Fairies of Pern
by Fyrius
Summary: Fairy Tail's strongest team takes a job so routine that they bring a few extra members! But now, they find themselves in a strange land with Happy, Carla, Pantherlily, and Juvia missing. Before too long, they are snapped up by Pern's secret 8th Weyr, led by the only female Bronze rider, a woman born in 21st century Earth. With new responsibilities, will they ever return home?Hiatus
1. The job

In a land far-far away lies the kingdom of Fiore. A small, peaceful nation of 17 million and a place filled with magic. Found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace, for most, magic is a tool, an everyday part of mundane life. For some however, magic is an art and they devote their lives to its practice. These are the wizards. Banded together into magical guilds, they apply their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore, but there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One in which many legends have been born. A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends, well into the future. Its name is Fairy Tail…

…

In a large town, almost a city stands a large gray building which casts a shadow over the town. This building is home to the greatest wizarding guild ever, Fairy Tail. What makes Fairy Tail so great? It isn't their power or their motto but their members. While Fairy Tail has many teams of great wizards, each with their own stories, there is one team with one story that proves to be the greatest…

…

On one sunny day, a light blue cat with wings found himself soaring over the town of Magnolia. This cat, Happy was searching for his best friend and fellow teammate, Natsu Dragneel. Natsu was… well a hothead. His pink hair was always spiked and his ever-present smile showed his canine teeth to be more pointed than normal. This came from his adopted father, the fire dragon Igneel. When Natsu was lost, the dragon took him in and taught him how to read, write, and use special magic that allowed him to take on the characteristics of a fire dragon, Fire Dragonslayer Magic. Happy sighed before he spotted the familiar white scarf the boy wore and soared down to the park where the boy was sleeping.

"Natsu, wake up!" Happy said, slapping his friend with a fish.

"Wha-Happy?" the Dragonslayer asked.

"Lucy's upset again!" Happy said.

Lucy Heartfilia, the daughter of a wealthy business tycoon and a wizard had left her life of riches to pursue her dream of becoming a Celestial Wizard, one who used special keys that opened gates to the world of the Celestrial Spirits that took the form of the constellations in the night sky, to summon the spirits and have them do battle on the Wizard's behalf. After helping Natsu and Happy, she had fulfilled her dream of being a wizard for Fairy Tail, quickly becoming one of the strongest wizards in the guild. When Natsu had decided to make a team, he had invited Lucy who had promptly accepted. Unfortunately, being in a team with the most destructive member of the guild, Natsu meant that she rarely had enough money to pay for her apartment, something that made her cranky.

Natsu sat up, "It's your turn to pick a job!"

Happy felt around the green backpack he wore before he pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Natsu.

"Assist an island nation with creating defenses against enemies, 200,000 Jewel." Natsu read. "Wait, didn't we do an island job before?"

Happy groaned, sometimes Natsu was really stupid. "Remember we went to Galuna Island and helped stop Deliora from tearing the place apart?"

"Oh yeah, that's where Lucy got the horse guy!" Natsu thought for a moment. "Well have you talked to Grey and Erza?"

"No, I wanted to see where you were." Happy said.

"Well let's go back to the guild hall!"


	2. Routine gone wrong

"Oh no, how am I going to pay rent this month?" Lucy moaned at the outdoor café in the Guild Hall.

"What happened to the Onibus job?" Mirajane Strauss, one of the top wizards or S-Class Mages in the guild asked.

"Natsu burned everything, Grey scared all the ladies, and Erza stabbed everything that moved. We were lucky to break even!"

Hearing her name, the tall red-headed Erza Scarlet walked over to the bar. Her magic was known as Requip-the Knight and involved magically re-equipping herself with armors and weapons at will. She was one of the youngest S-Class mages in the guild and the only one who wore armor. "Isn't it Happy's turn to pick the job?" Erza asked.

"Don't remind me."

At that moment, the door swung open to reveal Natsu and Happy. Happy quickly summoned his wings and flew over to Lucy, exclaiming, "I found a job!"

Lucy snatched the paper and read it. When she finished, she looked up, "Well, this sounds simple enough but why don't we bring some extra members along just in case things start going bad?"

Erza thought about that, "We could bring our newest members, Carla, Wendy, and Pantherlily with us."

"But Pantherlilly and Ganjeel stick together!" Lucy demanded.

"Someone say something?" Ganjeel Redfox, a tall black haired guy with studs everywhere and the Metal Dragonslayer asked.

Erza handed over the job. "We thought we should bring some extra members just in case. Would you and Pantherlily like to go?"

Ganjeel grumbled for a moment before speaking up, "Yeah, I do need to get out. But I'm not taking orders from him!" He said, pointing to Natsu.

Before Natsu could retort, Lucy spotted Wendy Marvell and her cat friend, Carla. "Hey Wendy, you want to go with us on a job?"

Wendy, a blue haired girl known as the Sky Dragonslayer turned, "You want me? Really?"

Lucy nodded, "Of course! We're going to help an island build defenses!"

Wendy turned Carla, a white cat in a red and pink dress with gold accents, "You want to come?"

"Of course child."

Grey Fullbuster, the last of the team walked up. As usual, he was currently in his drawers, a habit he had picked up when training on how to use ice to make things with magic. Lucy groaned, "Grey, your clothes."

Grey shrieked and covered himself with his hands before finding his clothes and putting them on.

When he came back, Lucy handed him the job. "We decided to bring Pantherlily, Ganjeel, Wendy, and Carla."

Hearing this, Juvia Lockser, the guild's rain woman ran up, "I'm coming too! I can't let my darling Grey go off without me again!"

Grey sighed but Lucy nodded. "Of course, we haven't worked together since the Tower of Heaven incident."

Erza looked at the group for a moment before speaking up, "Well, I'll go tell the Master and we can head out."

"What about all your stuff?" Grey and Natsu chorused.

"I don't feel like carrying it around."

…

Not ten minutes later, the group was on the train station, listening to Lucy talk about their powers. "We've got an Ice Wizard, a Celestrial Spirit Mage, three Exceeds, the Knight, the Metal Dragonslayer, the Sky Dragonslayer, and the Fire Dragonslayer, and a rain woman? That money is as good as ours!"

At that, the train pulled into the station and the group piled onto the train, Erza knocking Natsu out as he had a bad case of motion sickness. As the train pulled out, Lucy's words echoed in everyone's mind. How wrong they were…

…

After the train, the group took a ship until at last the island was in sight. Ironically enough, the island was Galuna, an island that idolized Fairy Tail for lifting the curse they had been placed under. Most other guilds didn't visit there because the citizens were actually demons.

With Natsu revived, the group stood on the shore to be welcomed by the demons. After some heart-felt greetings, the group was told that in light of earlier conflicts, the village where the demons lived would need to be fortified.

…

Lucy leaned back to admire the pits she had dug using one of her Celestial Spirits, the maiden Virgo. After being told not to make a pitfall trap, Lucy had dug pits which would be filled with pits of fire or ice and then loosely filled in again. She noticed the group coming back and waved a greeting.

At that moment, the moon came out from behind the clouds, shocking the group. The last time Lucy, Happy, Natsu, Grey, and Erza had been here, the moon had shone purple from a strange membrane of solidified gas. Now however, the moon shone a blinding white that was too bright to be normal. Thinking they were imagining the light, the group looked up, a beam of white light shone down, and the next moment, they were gone.


	3. Some beach

**A.N. From this point on, the story is actually based on my own dreams. I always had a reoccurring dream every night for half a decade that I was the Weyrleader of a covert Weyr. As with any story, there will be deviations from Anne McCaffery's works however I write these in memory of her. This story is set in Pern during the 9****th**** Pass. At this point, Jaxom has Impressed, F'nor has gone to the Star, and T'ton (Spelled T'ron here) is Weyrleader of Southern instead of T'kul. That is simply because I've read enough about T'ron to know he is actually a good guy and that he has his moments. As the premise of the Pern side is that the Weyrleader of the covert Weyr was whisked away from Earth, there will be cases where the characters know too much. Later, there will be times when the reader will wonder how things are possible. At these times, I ask you to just roll with it. R&R if you want and I will get to you as soon as I notice. Now with that, let's check on Fairy Tail's Strongest Team**

Lucy's eyes fluttered, revealing dazzling white beach sand. After a few moments, she found the strength to stand and noticed that she was barely above the tide line. Though she had no idea where she was, she knew she was not on Galuna as the shape of the coast was different. A quick glance showed her that somehow Grey and Natsu were unconscious on top of each other while Gajeel was passed out in Wendy's arms, something that Lucy was shocked to see. Right next to Lucy was Erza, in the early stages of revival. She was still wondering where she was when she heard a voice from the grasslands near the beach.

"Hey there, are you alright?"

Lucy turned to see a lightly tanned young man with dark brown hair peering at them from atop a strange horse-like animal.

"Some of us are missing but those of us here are unconscious. I've only just woken up." At that, Lucy groaned, "My head!"

The man swung off his beast and ran over to her. "I'm Piemur. What are you doing on the beach before Threadfall, looking for Fire-Lizard eggs?"

"Threadfall? Fire Lizard eggs?" Lucy asked.

"Deadglow, how could you be so stupid? Thread has fallen for eight turns now and Fire-Lizards have been hunted for one!" Piemur said.

"Why is it always Galuna Island?" Lucy wondered.

"Mph."

Lucy turned to see Erza waking up, "Erza, are you alright?"

"Oh Lucy, I'm alright, what about you?"

"I have a headache but other than that, I'm alright."

"T'ton's a decent sort now and we're closer to the Weyr so I'll take you there. I was headed that way myself, got orders from Master Robinton to help him play at Hatching." Piemur said.

"What kind of Hatching?" Erza mumbled.

"Why, dragons of course!" Piemur shouted.

"Dragons? Where where?"

Lucy sighed, "And with that, Natsu's awake." However, when she turned, she saw that Natsu and Grey were now eyeballing each other while Wendy and Gajeel were yards apart, both red in the face at their method of waking up.

"Well we're a few klicks away but even with you all we'll make it to Southern before the Threadfall. It'd be a treat if T'ton actually flies it." Piemur said.

**A.N. Yeah yeah, if you read HP&tD, you should know I can't shut up to save my life. I will just say that I am using Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, Sevendays, Months, Turns, Years and Klicks. Some of this is due to Pernese lore and some is because I can't remember the term.**


	4. The first Fall

At last, the group reached their destination, a rather large hut with strange clearings all around. Off to one side, they could see strange eggs sitting on sand with a golden mass hovering over them. Piemur ignored this and knocked on the door of the hut.

A grizzled old man answered the door, taking in the guests. "Journeyman Piemur, your Craftmaster has already arrived. And who are these?"

"Strangers I found close by. They act like they have no idea what Thread even is, Weyrleader."

"Do they now? Well we'll be flying. Since Benden insisted on coming to Hatching, we must keep the north happy. But…"

"What is it?"

"For some reason, we had another strange Weyrleader show up. He keeps his face hidden but he has the bearing and the Bronze. Funny thing is, not even Fidaranth knows who he is."

"That is strange. Does he know the dragon?" Piemur asked.

"He says it's Caranmanth but Caranmanth was a Bronze that supposibly died along with his rider in a Threadfall."

"Caranmanth you said? Didn't that girl, Fyrius Impress him?"

"Girls cannot Impress Bronze!"

"I was shocked as well." Piemur said.

"Well then, I suppose I must do my duty. You all may stay here during the Threadfall and Hatching however you are to help the women with numbweed." With that, Weyrleader motioned for the group to enter.

As they did so, Piemur was startled by a huge man who quickly called out, "Piemur, there you are you rascal!"

"Masterharper!" Piemur cried out.

"I was wondering if we'd have to get someone else to do that solo."

"Never! I just found this group on the beach so I couldn't ride Stupid."

"Ah, how is your Runner?"

"Quite well, he's gotten some decent growth on him now."

"Did Weyrleader T'ron mention that he's flying today?" Robinton said.

"Yes, he said that Benden was here so…"

"Hmmm… I just wish he'd remember his Ballads."

Piemur grinned, "Dragonmen must fly/When Thread is in the sky."

"Of course."

As this odd conversation continued, everyone was cut off by an alarm.

"Thread!" Piemur cried, quickly running off and hiding.

"That cheeky little…" Robinton said, walking outside to sit with the women who were now in a large clearing, watching what could only be strange looking dragons.

Natsu gasped, "Dragons? They don't look like Igneel at all!"

Robinton looked at the group strangely, "Yes, Dragons. That's Fidaranth, Weyrleader T'ron's dragon, ah there's Ruth." Robinton pointed to a little white Dragon. "Oh, it looks like everyone is fighting, that's N'ton's bronze Lioth, F'lar's Mnementh, I'm surprised, I don't recognize that one at all."

The group looked where he was pointing to see a stranger mount the strange dragon.

"What is he doing? That is not the way to mount your dragon, why doesn't he have the fighting straps… Wait, he's calling for agenothree?"

"What's agenothree?" Erza asked, curious.

"Oh, it's what we put in our flamethrowers, wait, he's asking for two?"

"Why is that so strange?" Lucy asked, "I mean, one for each hand?"

Natsu however was now interested. "I want to ride one!" He hollered.

Hearing this, the strange rider jumped off his beast and walked over to the group. "Never fly before?" A female voice asked.

"Nope."

"Well, Caramath is willing to let you on. I'll just need a set of fighting straps for you. We're flying wingheavy so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Wait, Fyrius?" Robinton gasped.

"Hello Masterharper."

"I thought you…"

"Nah. Don't tell anyone but I've actually started an eighth Weyr. Oh, and it's F'rus now."

"Another Weyr?"

"Well, most of us are double agents. I plan on snagging some of Southern's more unusual prospects for my own Weyr. It was N'ton's idea actually."

"N'ton?"

"My Bronzeleader."

"Bronzeleader?"

"He leads my Bronzes." With that, Fy, no F'rus dragged Natsu to the beast, giving him a leg up. The bronze rider then jumped up and climbed the dragon's leg before sitting at the neck and handing her dragon some strange stone. "Keep ahold of those straps no matter what you do and sit just like the other riders, I've had special training so I do things differently. Oh, there's the signal." F'rus said, nodding at T'ron's arm. As the arm went down, Caranmanth soared up to join the dragons, waiting for a signal.

When it came, Natsu found he was in a strange space devoid of any feeling. After a few seconds, Caranmanth emerged into a sunny day high above the other dragons, one flamethrower in each hand. A strange sheet of… Natsu had no idea what was starting to fall down and then… F'rus flicked a switch on each flamethrower, her dragon began to breathe fire, and the strange silvery stuff began to burn. F'rus directed her dragon into the strangest patterns, showing up here and there. In the small flashes he got, Natsu quickly could tell that some of the riders were not used to this fighting style but others seemed to know F'rus, one even tossing down a chunk of stone which Caranmanth caught expertly. At last, the Fall was over and Natsu was back on the ground, mildly dazed at the happenings.

"Thanks for the save Weyrleader!"

"Oh it was nothing, Caranmanth burned through his Firestone too early so the piece you handed him really helped."

"So who's taking the Journey?" another rider asked.

"Well, I think that I'll have you do it F'nor. You look like you've gotten too much meat on them bones."

**A.N. At last, I enter the story. For those who are curious, my story is that I was once a woman of Earth. Then, on the day that I received a gold medal in shot put for Special Olympics (Really happened, real date, 6/22/2013) I was whisked away from the 1****st**** place podium and found myself in front of the Queen Egg at one of Ramoth's many Hatchings. There I Impressed Bronze and ran, knowing that my staying there would cause F'lar problems. Then, I journeyed north until I came across a mountain located on the North Pole. This became my weyr but I believed I was destined for greatness and secretly turned it into a hidden Weyr. I recruited many well standing members of the seven Weyrs and together we trained using a mysterious spirit located at Poles Weyr. Now, several months later, we are beginning our operations of expanding our Weyr.**


	5. The hidden Weyr

Not long after, the group was sitting on some bleachers facing the eggs. Strange boys garbed in white were walking up to the eggs which were now rocking. Natsu looked on, wondering what would happen next.

"The dragon chooses his rider you know." F'rus whispered. "When I was presented as a Queenrider even though I came out of nowhere, I knew when Caramath hatched that he was my dragon, he told me so."

With that, the dragons began humming and the two shinier eggs broke apart, followed by the other ones. Some boys walked off with a dragonet by their side while others were left standing on the sands. The biggest shock was the smaller of the golden colored dragons, she seemed to be trying to get to the stands! An argument broke out between some of the people until the one Natsu recognized as F'lar quickly helped the dragonet into the stands. After a moment, the little dragon stopped at F'rus' level, her eyes staring at Robinton!

Robinton gasped and then spoke up, "Her name is Regalith!"

Natsu heard F'rus whisper something into her jacket, "Robinton's ours. Put him with that Bronze rider and those two greens. I'd love the brown but it is definitely T'ron's."

Natsu then heard someone say, "Yes Weyrleader."

…

Finally, only F'rus and Team Natsu were left in the stands. "Would you all like to stay at my Weyr?" F'rus asked.

Natsu nodded while the others looked a little nervous. Finally, the group nodded.

"Oh don't worry, Pole is a great Weyr. A little remote but we're a good bunch."

F'rus then led the group over to a beach closer to the Weyr than the one they showed up at, scanning the skies for something.

"What are you looking for?" Lucy asked.

"Would have thought that L'ssa would be here by now." F'rus then sighed, "Ah, there she is. I see that Deranth is here too."

The two dragons landed and their riders jumped off their beasts the same as F'rus had. "Sorry we're late Weyrleader, F'lar needed me for something. I'll be glad when we can stage my death though." The gold rider said.

"L'ssa, you know we can't do that until things are stable enough." F'rus huffed.

"I meant to be here earlier too but someone seemed to recognize me, don't know why, I don't have a tan anymore."

"I know S'men, thank you for your caution. This is Lucy, Grey, Natsu, Erza, Wendy, and Gajeel. They'll need transport to Pole. I'll take Erza and Gajeel while L'ssa will take Grey and Natsu leaving you with Wendy and Lucy."

…

Not long after, the nine were on their assigned dragons and soaring over the grass. F'rus was looking through a telescope at the ground before she nodded. "F'nor is on the move, we can go. South Poles Weyr if you please?"

The next second later, Erza and Gajeel gasped at the strange blackness before sighing in relief at the sight of a snow covered mountain with a high ledge protruding from it. Caranmanth was directed to the ledge where he landed, F'rus jumping off before he had touched down. The people in the mountain quickly snapped to attention

"How is the construction of Moons?" F'rus asked, taking off her getup.

"Timor is almost complete." A woman said.

"That just leaves Bellior to be done. It will be good to turn this into our training hold."

"Can I take your jacket, Weyrleader?"

F'rus unbuttoned and unzipped her jacket before tossing it to the woman and signaling someone else. The man inquestion appeared with a cloak that had a diamond on it, the top and bottom corners being designed to look like mountaintops. F'rus swung this over her head before buttoning it up, leaving her in a light red shirt and pants. "Make sure you get these folks some food, some of them look hungry enough to eat both sections of the Weyr." She said, straightening her long red hair.

…

Quickly, food was brought to a table where the group sat down. F'rus stared at the group for a moment before asking their story.

"Well, we were on a job on Galuna Island and…" Lucy began.

"Go back farther. I can tell you aren't from Pern so what is the world you live in called?"

"Earthland." Erza supplied.

"Country? Town?"

"We live in Fiore, in the town of Magnolia. That's where our guild, Fairy Tail is."

"What kind of guild?"

"We're Wizards." Lucy said.

"Ah. Not many know this but I am from a land called Earth. It is actually where the ancestors of the current Dragonriders come from. Somehow, I was whisked through time and space to Pern. We have five planets and two asteroid belts but our big problem is Pern's sister planet, The Red Star." F'rus took a swig of something before continuing. "When The Red Star gets too close to Pern, it drops silvery threads that devour everything it touches except for metal and solid rock. There are a few ways to combat it, the most noticeable being Dragons. The smallest, Greens are female but they cannot reproduce as firestone makes them sterile. Blues are stronger and good workers, the second smallest male dragons. Then there is the white dragon, Ruth. Not much is known about Ruth though as he was hatched a turn or year ago. Browns are the brunt of most wings as they are stronger and more maneuverable than blues or greens. Then there are the leader dragons, the Bronzes that are quick fliers and highly intelligent and the Queens, the golden dragons. Queens cannot chew firestone so they fly low with flamethrowers. They also lay eggs and continue breeding." F'rus yawned. "We do things differently here. Queens still can't chew but every rider fights using two flamethrowers and their dragon's flame or in the Queen's case, the double flamethrower. We go through intense training in order to gain increased maneuverability and confidence. You noticed how I flew wild?" She turned to Natsu who nodded. "When we can pull riders away from their original Weyrs, they fight like that because of their training. So… wizards hm? What do each of you do?"

"I store weapons and armors in a pocket dimension and switch them out at will." Erza said.

"I summon ice and use it to make things." Grey said.

"I eat fire and use it to attack with." Natsu said.

"I do the same thing as Natsu but I eat iron and use it." Gajeel said.

"I do the same thing with air." Wendy said meekly.

"And I use my keys to summon spirits of the Zodiac." Lucy said, feeling around for her keys, "My keys! They're gone!"

F'rus thought for a second, "Don't worry, maybe they really aren't gone but you no longer need them. So Grey, do you have a high tolerance to the cold?"

"I do my best work in the cold."

"S'mon! Make pre-candidate uniforms for these six. Erza, Wendy, and Lucy will need a standard set while Grey's will need to be extra thin. Make Natsu's flame resistant but extra thin and Gajeel's needs to be extra tough."

"Yes Weyrleader."

F'rus turned to the group, "We are working to move our base of operations to the moons. As soon as your uniforms are made, you will join us in this project. Luckily, I have my ways of keeping air in and vacuum out. We'll be piping in heat from the cores of the moons and using connections to have furniture and clothing manufactured. Thankfully, we've got a herd of cold resistant wherries and other herdbeasts. We won't abandon Pole, we're just moving most of our operation to Moons.


	6. Construction

Less than three days later, Gajeel and Natsu were working together to weld a pipe into place on the largest moon, Bellinor. Though they didn't get along, both enjoyed the work and learned new ways to combine their power. Erza, Lucy, and Grey were nearby, debating with F'rus on the Weyr's design. A few rooms away, Wendy was teaching some of the Weyrfolk how to heal wounds. They had gotten their uniforms on the first day, each with a flat bar on the shoulder. After that, they had been put to work like dogs, something that everyone resented until they realized that F'rus was working just as much if not more.

"If we do two moons separately it'll be too obvious and it'll look dorky. I think we should do a white crescent moon inside a light blue full moon so it just looks like one moon to outsiders. Then we would do the background color as scarlet to show the blood that went into the unification of the Weyrs." F'rus spoke up.

Natsu turned his head, "I think that would look cool!"

Grey sighed and made some hand motions before creating the desired symbol. At that sight, the group smiled and nodded. "S'mon, could you take a team and make the new patch?"

"At once, Weyrleader!" The Bronze rider called.

As soon as he left, F'rus turned to look at Natsu and Gajeel's patch job. "Alright you two, you've done half this section already, let's hop on over to Pole."

"This early, F'rus?" Gajeel growled.

"The Candidates should be here soon." F'rus said.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Natsu hollered.

"Craft Secret."

…

F'rus, in the light uniform used in the Weyr stared at the candidates in front of her. Many were trying to get warm in their thin white candidate robes while Robinton had one of the youngest in a bear hug to get him warm. After a few moments, she spoke up, "Greetings Candidates. In a few minutes, you will pass forth to our Great Hall where you will receive your rank as Junior Trainees. The fact that you were able to survive the elements for three days shows that you all are what I would expect in my Weyr. Yes, I am the Weyrleader. My Weyr adopts very few customs of the known Weyrs and one of the ones changed is the practice of the Queen deciding the pecking order. In this Weyr, the oldest Bronze will decide it. However, I remain the Weyrleader until my death or retirement. Also, all riders will earn the honorific that always was male exclusive. This will take place on the day that you are promoted to Dragonrider, after your training is complete. We do not ride some Falls, instead flying all of them, regardless of their path. From the moment your Dragon hatched, you became dead to the world, each one of your deaths staged as you took your journey. The only exception is the Masterharper whose death will be staged after he has found a suitable replacement. Those of you who are confused at my terminology, I will explain. In the event that we ride Search or gain a member who has not taken the journey you just took, that person is known as a Pre-Candidate, signified by one horizontal bar. As soon as you are presented to the hatching grounds, you gain an additional bar and the rank of Candidate. After your journey, you lose the Candidate bars and gain your Junior Trainee bars, three slanted bars. You will then learn the things any Weyr would teach such as ballads, basic manuvers, and dragon care. After a period of time, you lose one bar and become a Senior or Grade 2 Trainee and receive Weyr specific training. On occasion, you will be called upon to assist with Threadfall." F'rus glared at the Candidates. "Some of you will be promoted to the final Trainee rank, Leader Trainee or Grade 1. This is a special honor that puts you on the fast track for a high position in the Dragonrider ranks. After you have passed this or have skipped it, you will earn your Rider name and be assigned into a Color Guard, a wing for dragons of your color. You earn a colored arrow to show you have passed into the ranks. If you are promoted further, you will gain 3 stars as a Third, 2 for a Second, or 1 for a leader. Finally, the Weyrman, second in command of the Weyr will gain a gold dragon symbol while Platinum is awarded to the Leader. And now, welcome to Poles Weyr!" With that, the Candidates were escorted inside a room with long tables and steaming plates of food. F'rus quickly introduced the Candidates and several riders pinned three slashed bars on each rider. Then, F'rus sat at a high table and the feast began.


	7. Impression! Erza and Natsu's last

The weeks went by with the Trainees learning about every Weyr's fighting style along with dragon care and geography. While the new Weyr was being built, many were pressed into assisting with the cleaning and others gave new ideas that led to amazing innovations. Occasionally, the riders would fly Thread, sometimes not returning for several days. At last, the news came of another Hatching, this time at Benden.

…

Natsu gaped at F'rus. "What, me?"

"Of course. We will stagger your Hatchings but each one of you will get the chance. Grey was to be the second pick but he still has that habit. Thankfully, Erza kicked her armor wearing habit and will supposedly be presented to the Queens." F'rus said, tossing the boy a robe. "Unfortunately, you can't wear the scarf."

"But."

"However, we will keep it locked up in a special vault whose code will only be known by me. You are masquerading as the result of a Benden Search."

Natsu sighed before taking off his scarf. "Well, I suppose I can… Hey, what are you doing?"

F'rus looked up, holding a long thread of the scarf. Then, she tied it around his shoulder with a very loose knot. "I remember you saying that you got this from your father. I was lucky that thread was loose so now you can hang onto one thread."

Natsu looked up as F'rus attached the Candidate Bar to Natsu's robe and then turned it a little so that the bar was hidden.

"I have to warn you that it will be extremely cold Between with that robe. Every other Weyr hands their Candidates their robes after they are at the Weyr. Aside from that, I wish you good luck."

…

Natsu stood shoulder-to-shoulder with a thick boned boy and a weedy one, now wondering if it would be a good idea to even Impress. However, he heard the Dragons begin to hum and was forced to walk forward onto the sands. As he did so, he felt the thread around his shoulder blade before looking at the slowly rocking eggs. He could see Erza near one of the Queen eggs, fiddling with her hair nervously. At that, he looked at the stands, noting some of the faces he now knew by name and Dragon. It was strange to see Pole Riders wearing something other than the white and black diamond but he had learned about secrecy early on. At last, he was forced to look down as a dragonet broke its shell.

…

Up in the stands, F'rus had her eyes peeled for the special riders she looked for. There was that one weedy one next to Natsu… What was his name, Keevan?

_Keevan's a good choice but his father is a rider here. _Came L'ssa's voice over the microphone.

"Understood. You said that tough looking guy was a nuisance?" F'rus whispered.

_He definitely has cronies._

"Might make a good third." F'rus thought for a second before continuing, "Of course, it might also make him more trouble."

_Peelair would be a good choice. His father and mother died recently so if he Impresses he can certainly be snapped up._

Now, the dragonettes were racing to find their riders, causing F'rus to pay attention. A queen, green, and blue were attempting to enter the stands, leaving F'rus to groan. It had been determined that stand dragonettes would be obvious choices for the Weyr after F'rus had seen the Impression of Jaxom's Ruth. Sure enough, the three dragonettes were shortly in a clearing with S'mon helping them to feed their new charges.

…

F'rus landed, shrugging her gear off as Lucy, Gajeel, Wendy, and Grey came crashing down on her. She ignored them until she had the last piece off. "Two Bronzes. We also had a few renegades."

This caused the four to cheer until F'rus quietly reminded them that the next three days would tell the tale.

"Actually," F'rus conceded. "It should only be one and a half, two at the most."

"Really?" Lucy asked.

"The last group came in from Southern so they had a harder walk." F'rus then eyeballed Grey, "Boy, clothes."

Grey shrieked before locating his shirt and putting it back on.

"And that is why you were left behind." F'rus hissed.

Grey growled something, prompting F'rus to clock him. "And no, you will not be permitted at the Telgar Hatching."

"Who is going then?" Lucy asked.

"Well you are."

Lucy stared.

"Gajeel, you've done great work with that attitude of yours, you will be attending with Lucy."

As soon as this sank in, Lucy puched the air, "Yes!"

"Unfortunately Lucy, if you Impress, your name will be a mix of both your first and last names."

Lucy groaned but F'rus quickly ordered her to go find something to knit.


	8. Moons Weyr

Gajeel leaned against the clearing as he listened to A'ra, an ex-junior weyrwoman of Igen give the group their orders. "…as such, we will be taking a journey to show that a Dragonrider must know not only how to fly a-dragonback, but also how to survive and know the lay of the land from all perspectives. I myself have made a journey slightly longer. I must warn you, this journey can kill you however if you succeed, you will enter into a world you never thought possible."

"Candidates spotted close to North Pole Hold!" J'ral, an ex-Southern rider as well as the current Blue Leader called out.

"Very well." F'rus smiled as she put on her newly made uniform. The move to Moons had been completed perhaps two hours ago, just in time for the Junior Trainees to receive their special training. Now, F'rus waited in the huge main hall for the Candidates, a small smile on her lips.

At last, the first Candidate appeared, seemingly out of thin air. F'rus was not surprised to see Brekke, the tragic Queenrider who had lost her queen in a double suicide. When she Impressed the renegade queen, Benden had been filled in uproar at the event and the girl's death was easy to fake. F'rus grinned at the girl, tossing her an everyday use uniform and pointing her to a small curtain that had been rigged. When she came out, the majority of riders began to appear in groups of six, each candidate taking in their surroundings in shock, some struggling for breath after the final walk through one tube to another across the expanse of the moon. When the last person was dressed, F'rus quickly gave the same speech as last time before waving them into the new eating hall.

"Many do not realize how much work goes into raising a dragon. Even those who were Weyrbred have no idea until they have a large beast that insists that you scrub harder or wait while they go roll in the muddy spot you just dragged them out of." F'rus broke off to the laughter of the Trainees and Riders. "However, there comes a time when you finally learn how to fight, finally work out those difficulties. At this point, the weyrling, or Trainee can focus on Thread and the purpose they were called for. Now we welcome five individuals that have earned this honor. "Robinton! Jeeram! Klaudius! Jeremiah! Cooran! Please remove your first stripe with pride, relinquishing the duties of a Junior Trainee, remembering that from this day forward, you are not a weyrling, you are a Trainee of Moons!"

With a grin, the five mentioned stood up and ripped one of the bars on their uniforms with a slight tearing sound. Then, amid the cheers of the Weyr, they dropped the bar each held and sat down.

"We all remember those sleepless nights trying to get warm through any means possible. Why, I remember I almost lost an eye after snuggling with F'nor to get warm! But now, five minds have this memory fresh on their minds. To them I say welcome!" F'rus then got up and took off the Candidate bar of each new arrival before attaching three slanted bars to each uniform. "These five are now reborn as they take that next step to becoming a Dragonrider of Pern!"

Natsu swung out of his cot in the Weyrleader's chambers, grabbing his uniform in the process. When he had been told to jump into the strange crack in the floor of Pole, he thought that S'mon was insane! But the shock came when Moons was completed. Even better, Ignath was his dragon and he'd teach him to flame all enemies in his path. He saw Erza get up and together the two walked over to a curtain where they took turns changing. After that, the two walked over to breakfast, Natsu fingering his triple bar in shock.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" Erza said, noticing his action.

"If only Happy were here." Natsu said.

The two walked inside and reached for some breakfast, noticing that the Senior Trainees were only picking at their food.

"What is it Robinton?" Natsu asked the Harper.

"We're starting our big training today."

"So?" Natsu asked.

"I heard that the training makes the journey seem like a walk through the crafthall."

"You sure you're not just scared of having to learn again?" Natsu taunted.

"You'll do OK, it's hard training but it is worth it." F'rus said as she threw a heavy cloak over her shoulders.

"Threadfall?" Natsu asked.

"Yup. Over Harpercraft Hall down to mid Great Sea." F'rus said, slipping her mike on.

"So Weyrleader, can you give me any clues about training?" Robinton asked.

"Nope. You guys have to do it cold turkey, same as us." F'rus slipped her non-covert goggles on and reached for a piece of toasted bread. "Don't worry though, just pay attention and you'll do fine."

Natsu sighed. "I wish it was my turn."

F'rus turned to Natsu, spraying crumbs all over the boy. "You just got Ignath, wait your turn. Oh, and I'll give you your scarf back as soon as we finish. It'll be a short one today."

Robinton turned to F'rus. "Would you mind slipping this to Sebell?" He asked, handing a rolled up skin to F'rus. "I told him I'd send it via rider."

"Yeah, we'll drop it on the drumheights."

F'rus walked out with the skin while Robinton sighed. "This is more trouble than it is worth sometimes."

"At least you didn't get pulled out of your own world for this." Natsu sighed.

"Might as well have."


	9. F'rus

F'rus checked her flamethrowers before hooking them to her belt and feeding her dragon. Then, she turned around to give positions, "Bronze, Blue, Green, Brown, Queen. Take your units as a single mass on an hourly rotation. We haven't worked on mass runs in a while so remember to pace yourself. Blue, you'll rotate with Green so figure it out from there. Ok?"

Riders turned to their Leaders who waved at F'rus in turn. Then, F'rus lifted off and snapped Between to hover over the moons. After a few seconds, the rest of the riders had gathered and put themselves into their wings before F'rus cupped her right hand over her mike, her left in the air. "Geit Weg?"

As one, the riders cupped their hands over their own mikes to give out the reply, "Weg geien!" With that, F'rus' hand dropped and the dragons winked into Between to emerge a few klicks away from Harpercraft Hall.

Below them, the Fort wings had noticed them, N'ton's voice crackling over the mike. "Some party last night, 'eh Weyrleader?"

F'rus smirked before speaking up, "Not as good as tonight's."

With a slight chuckle, N'ton saw his dragons turn to get firestone and then charge the menace in front of them.

"Fur Pern!" F'rus hollered, the signal to flame. At that, the wings exploded, Queen Wings dropping lower than the Fort dragons while the two Blues began to spin, their rider's flamethrowers turning the dragons into comets. The Brown Wing was taking a swivel approach, darting down then up to get Thread while the Bronzes were doing a drill type maneuver, the flaming dragons circling the non-flaming ones before the rotation caused them to slip to the center. As the Fall hit Harpercrafthall, F'rus dropped the skin she was carrying, only to have it be caught and dropped by a bronze until it fell on the drumheights. Once they were out of the Fort Flightpatterns, a couple of dragons flew up and filled their places in the wings, N'ton reporting that there was only one bad scoring and three minor ones. Though the Fall was eight hours, it seemed to be over in a second, the dragons popping into the Main Cavern of Moons while their riders swung to the ground.

"Fort had three minor and one major. We had two idiots nailed at the end there. Don't forget that Thread isn't over until the last one burns!" F'rus snarled at her Weyr.

"Yes Weyrleader!"

…

After a few minutes, F'rus grinned. "N'ton has informed me that Fort was impressed. As such, both riders will receive normal rations tonight instead of half rations. He also brings news from the Hatching Grounds, five queen eggs were laid."

L'ssa, prepared to head to her Weyr of Origin gasped. "Five?"

N'ton laughed, "Benden still holds the Bronze record for the 25 Ramoth laid."

At this, snorts of laughter rang out as L'ssa mounted Ramoth and took off for Benden.

…

F'rus landed on her feet, patting Caramath's leg. Never in her 22 years, _Turns! _She ordered herself, _gotta think of them as turns not years, you're not an alienated schoolgirl on Earth anymore! _Never in her 22 Turns had she needed to pull off the deception she now must. To trick six Weyrleaders and almost that many Weyrwomen was no small feat. However, it was time for her Weyr to emerge from the shadows and the day after the Fort Fall was the perfect time.

"Halt!" A guard ordered.

F'rus smoothed her hair down and took off her riding goggles before answering, "Is there a problem?"

"Name and rank!"

F'rus quickly disengaged her mike. "Weyrleader F'rus here for Conclave."

N'ton, hearing the commotion quickly popped up, "Oh, hello Weyrleader. Thank you for the assistance yesterday."

With that, N'ton led F'rus to the seat that Lessa had just vacated. "I apologize for my tardiness. Benden has some of the best guards I've seen." F'rus said with a nod at F'lar.

F'lar blinked. Something about this man seemed… familiar. "I don't believe I caught your name, Weyrleader…?"

"Weyrleader F'rus of Moons Weyr." F'rus said. "N'ton, how are those four riders of yours?"

"Well. The three minor scorings are almost healed and it turns out the fourth wasn't as bad as we thought."

F'rus noticed that the Weyrleaders and Weyrwomen were eyeballing her in anger. "Right. I know many of you do not believe mine is an official Weyr. I am fine with that. Dragonmen must fly/When Thread is in the sky. I had not planned on revealing our existence except…" F'rus trailed off.

"Except?" T'ron of Southern demanded.

"Well my wings noticed something rather shocking. We were close to the end of Fall over the Great Sea when we saw Thread move up before falling back down. In fact, many of us thought we were seeing things but this happened multiple times."

Some of the Weyrleaders looked murderous while some took it at face value. Seeing this, F'rus fixed each Weyrleader in a stare colder than Between. She then broke the last eye contact, F'lars off with a jerk of her head, causing some of her hair to go free.

F'lar noticed this and gasped, "Guards, seize him!"

F'rus turned, "I suppose a few minutes of my time are the least my Weyr of Origin deserves." F'rus then nodded to the ledge, "However, Caramath was planning on dinner after Conclave. Would you mind losing a buck?"

F'lar reluctantly dipped his head.

At this, F'rus walked out, sidestepping the guards. F'lar noticed that the other Weyrleader actually signaled to his dragon to take one, an order that was obeyed. He also heard F'rus mutter something in his earpiece.

…

After the Conclave, F'rus turned to F'lar. "I hope you don't mind but I've invited my top men."

F'lar stared then called for Lessa.

_Lioth approaches with N'ton. _Mnementh supplied. No sooner had F'lar acknowledged this than Lioth was going for a slow pass of the ledge. F'lar was stunned when he saw N'ton jump from his moving dragon, landing on his feet without any effort.

"Nice landing Bronzeleader." F'rus said with a nod.

_Lessa and Ramoth come. _Instead of a low-flying pass, Lessa had her dragon dip her wing so it looked like the Weyrwoman was sliding down her dragon's wing.

F'rus was not impressed. "I would order you to half-rations but I know you'd just get the other half here."

Lessa hid her smile, "My apologies Weyrleader."

_Canth approaches with F'nor. _F'nor took N'ton's approach, grinning at the chastised woman.

_Jeranth with K'lan and Dereth with J'ral approach._

F'rus groaned but it turned out to be no problem with K'lan landing first, followed by J'ral.

F'rus nodded to the pair and then popped her mike down and flipped her hair out.

F'lar, noticing this was stunned, "Fyrius?"

F'rus led the way into the Council Chambers before speaking, "It's F'rus now. May I present to you my Colorleaders?"

F'lar looked at her in confusion.

"This is my Goldleader, L'ssa, Bronzeleader N'ton, Brownleader F'nor, Blueleader J'ral, and Greenleader K'lan."

Now F'lar looked shocked.

"For many months some of your own riders have been living a double life. In Benden, they use techniques as dull and inefficient as… well as anything that is brought before Fandarel. In Moons, they are the greatest riders in all of the Weyrs, ready to ride any Threadfall no matter the distance. Though they hide it, each one of my riders could outfly any of the known Weyrs." F'rus fingered her hair. "Perhaps you will someday know the thrill of riding as we do."

"How many holds do you have?"

"One."

"Weyrfolk?"

"At this moment? Three. Everyone else is a rider as well as a worker."

N'ton signaled F'rus, revealing the ranking mark on his shoulder to be a gold star.

"Ah yes. Unfortunately, we have Candidates to attend to and F'nor is still a little nervous about leaving his weyrmate, even if she is only a Junior Trainee." F'rus started to walk forward before turning around, a blazing fire in her eyes. "Breathe one word of this to anyone and we will show you what happens when you mess with us." With that, F'rus popped her mike back into place, lowered her goggles, and walked out of the cavern.

F'nor chuckled. "Oh I remember when that look was directed at me. I got overexcited and ordered Canth to flame before we had really gotten our spin going. I had that burn for a few sevendays because my punishment was no medical treatment. I'm sure you noticed?"

F'lar gasped as he remembered a time when F'nor had seemed to be in pain but refused to let anyone near him. This gave way to a yell as he saw Fyr-F'rus jump off the ledge.

"Keep watching." F'nor laughed.

With a sinking heart, F'lar kept watching, rearing back as he saw a bronze belly soar past the ledge. "Of all the…"

"That move gave me some problems but N'ton and some of the newer riders got it easy. It's all about putting faith in your dragon and building instant communication skills. You didn't notice but as she ran, F'rus let her dragon know she was heading out and received a response back."

"So what was this about half rations?" F'lar asked as J'ral ran past.

"Sometimes we have to live with what we do but if it's something major like threadscore or hotdogging, we have to go to bed with half or a quarter of our normal meal. If it's threadscore or something similar, the dragon also is punished and has to split their next meal with the two dragons next to them in the wing. This means that the dragon is also on low rations and both will remember not to mess up in the future."

F'lar stared at his halfbrother in shock. "But that's!"

"We do things you would never think possible. Most of it could kill a rider with less training. If F'rus is harsh it is because she is harsh on herself. In fact, we also are allowed to dish out punishments to her if she acts up." F'nor grinned. "After we all completed our Senior Trainee training, she did something dumb and as a result she only took a few pieces of bread that night. I think that was the moment when we realized what the Weyr is all about." F'nor then looked around and noticed L'ssa had just jumped. "Well, it's my turn. Perhaps someday you will see the Weyr. Until then… It will remain a mystery."


	10. New riders

F'rus stared at her Weyr. Though not everyone knew it, today was a special day… "Once there was a schoolgirl who longed to be someone others looked up to. Then, she was whisked many years into the future to a world known as Pern. There, she Impressed Bronze and was thrown out for it. Now, she is the Weyrleader of the greatest Weyr of Pern!"

Those seated in front of her cheered and applauded.

F'rus lifted her hand, gesturing for everyone to be quiet. "Many of you wonder what sets our Weyr apart. I know you ask that question. Is it the Weyrleader? Is it the ordeal we go through? Is it where we live? No. It's what we do to become riders. For the first time since its inception, we now honor four who have earned the right to call themselves riders." F'rus motioned for Jeeram to stand in front of the high table. "Jeeram. You came from our first Hatching, whisked away from the life you knew. You've seen the blood spilled for Pern and if I remember correctly, spilled some as well."

"Yes Weyrleader."

"Now comes the time to take the oath. Do you, Jeeram, swear to fight Thread, no matter where it falls at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Do you swear that no utterance of what goes on here will escape your lips as long as you live?"

"I do."

"Then from this moment on, you shall be known as J'ram, Blue Rider of Moons." At this, F'rus ripped J'ram's double bar away and pinned an arrow to his shoulder before passing him a cloak.

"Klaudius." F'rus said.

"Yes Weyrleader?" Klaudius said, tripping over himself to get to the table.

"You also came from our first Hatching, whisked away from the life you knew. You've seen the blood spilled for Pern and have brought life into the Weyr through your antics."

"I have."

"Now comes the time to take the oath. Do you, Klaudius, swear to fight Thread, no matter where it falls at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Do you swear that no utterance of what goes on here will escape your lips as long as you live?"

"I do."

"Then from this moment on, you shall be known as Kl'dus, Green Rider of Moons." F'rus then repeated the same elevation process to Kl'dus.

…

Now Jeremiah's second oath rang out across the hall. "I do."

"Then from this moment on, you shall be known as J'rah, Bronze Rider of Moons."

"Then from this moment on, you shall be known as C'ran, Blue Rider of Moons."

As C'ran, J'rah, Kl'dus, and J'ram sat down, the Weyr was shaking from the cheers of those present.

…

F'rus held her hand up. "As many of you recall, there were five Candidates at that Hatching. There is a time when a rider stands above the others, not because of his power to fight but because he possesses certain qualities. In this Weyr, when a Trainee surfaces with these qualities, he goes through extra training and from there becomes skilled in leadership of the Weyr. One such person is to be honored today. Robinton, please remove your Senior Bar and begin your tenure as a Leadship Trainee."

"As we have many who are becoming riders, I ask the following people to stand; Natsu Dragneel, Erza Scarlet, Brekke, Robinton, Piemur, and Mirrim."

While the others stood slowly, Natsu jumped up, knocking a chair to the ground.

"Each of you has brought life into the Weyr. Natsu, Erza, you both were some of the people who helped build Moons and like me; you both come from another world. Robinton, I meant to give you your rank earlier but I felt you were just not ready. You and Piemur have both kept Harpercraft alive here, something we can never forget. And Brekke, Mirrim, you both have been amazing healers, something that almost makes me wish I could procrastinate longer. So now, knowing the bloodshed that goes into the Weyr, do you all swear to fight Thread no matter where it falls at the cost of your lives?"

"Yes Weyrleader!"

"And do you swear never to reveal any goings-on at the Weyr as long as you all live?"

"Yes Weyrleader!"

F'rus nodded, causing all six to rip off their Leadership stripes.

F'rus then stood next to Brekke. "Though your past is sad, you never stopped living. Now, you have earned your place not as a Weyrwoman but as a Goldleader, more specifically GoldSecond. So now, from this day forward, you shall be known as Br'k, Gold Second of Moons." F'rus then pinned two stars on Br'k's shoulder.

"In this day and age, many people have a Fire-Lizard at their side. However, I know of only two people who have such unique circumstances as you do. Not only did you Impress multiple lizards at one time, it was also by accident. Even if this wasn't so, you like Br'k share qualities that deem you a leader. As such, I now name you M'rim, Greenleader of Moons."

"Your story is almost as legendary as that of Lessa or Moreta. Through a strange twist of fate, you wound up on the shores of the Southern Continent with only a fire-lizard egg to your name. With Thread fast approaching, you had to find a way to keep alive, eventually taming a runnerbeast and Impressing a gold fire lizard. You brought the Harpercraft to the South and are respected at Weyrs most are not. From this day forward, you are no longer Journeyman Piemur of Harpercrafthall but, by the grace of the Masterharper himself, masterharper Piemur. However, Piemur is no longer a name you have any right to. As such, from this day forward, I name you P'mur, Blueleader of Moons, a position that J'ral agrees to."

"Seven Weyrs have one thing in common that we do not. I have looked for someone to turn this into the eighth Weyr with this criteria, and that someone is you, Robinton. As the Weyrleader here is a female who Impressed Bronze, so the second in command be a male that Impressed Gold. As such, and for many reasons shown before your Impression, I name you R'ton, Weyrman of Moons."

"You had humble beginnings as a slave to the Tower of Heaven. Betrayed by your best friend, you were forced to watch friend after friend die, forced to flee. Now, like me you stand in a world not your own facing a calling that cannot be ignored. Erza, a dragonrider's honorific normally would be a shortening of your name. However, I ask you if you wish to take the name E'lal, after all you have done."

Erza gasped, stunned. "I no longer live in that world and any mention of it would pain me. Please do not give me that honor."

"Then from this day forward, I name you E'scar, Bronzesecond of Moons Weyr."

"Everyone here can say they have befriended a dragon. However, only two can claim to be the son of a dragon. Of those two, one stands before us, once rash and full of anger but now it has been tamed. Now, Natsu Dragneel, I name you N'eel, Bronzethird of Moons!"


	11. N'eel's flight

Diary of Lucy Hearfilia on Pern, November 2nd

After Natsu and Erza became full-fledged riders, I know my turn is near. Laylith is almost at the right growth for riding at which I will move on to the second phase of Junior training. Strangely, there has been no Thread yet, something that worries F'rus. Nat, pardon me, N'eel of course is saying we should go to the Red Star, something that has F'rus thinking. F'nor on the other hand says that the Red Star is not a viable option, showing me some hideous Threadscore he received when he tried. Gajeel's in Leadership training and there is talk that he'll be F'nor's Second. Wendy and I are Juniors while Grey is training as a Senior in Poles. N'eel keeps scaring me with tales of being forced to walk on spikes barefoot but F'rus assures me that many of the stories of training are just that. R'ton still is a Harper and I've learned a lot of history from him, P'mur, and F'rus. According to F'rus, her descendants settled Pern and are actually the ancestors of the Pernese. Though I'm glad N'eel and E'scar haven't had to fight Thread, I am also worried that it hasn't fallen. Oh, there's the alarm, I'll have to put this away and get to my station, I'm on monitoring duty today, using these special maps to chart the course of Thread.

…

F'rus leaned next to her dragon, quickly giving orders to the Colorleaders. "We're flying a full pole to pole Fall. I don't like this but luckily we are trained for this. As our numbers have grown, each Guard will be split into up to three smaller guards. One guard will fly reserves in case some of the younger dragons need a rest but the other two will fly a burst formation. We'll start normal but if need be, we will use that expansionary tactic. Luckily, Thread is hitting very few Weyrs so we'll be flying full strength all the time. N'eel, E'scar, you have never faced Thread but if you remember what you are taught, you will have a better chance than any Pernbred rider here. Now, prepare to mount."

At that, F'rus jumped on her dragon, signaling her Trainee, Wendy to throw up a good chunk of firestone. Checking the chunk, she nodded and checked her equipment, noticing that the new riders were overchecking. Finally, she swiveled her head. "The time it takes to assemble the wings will be no more than a minute. However, remember that we are assembling in a place with no air. This means everything is to be done mind to mind and dragon to dragon instead of verbally. We'll be flying our explosion pattern so take note of the Leader assigned to you. This time, we'll fly Bronze, Brown, Blue, Green, Queen. As most of this is being flown over uncharted land, be extra-aware of your stamina and surroundings. If Thread burrows, notify your Leader, ColorLeader, and both Weyrleaders. Ok?"

N'eel fiddled with his flamethrower before checking for the twelve riders under his command. Some of them, knowing he was new, gave him a quick smile. Finally, he nodded at N'ton, his own Leader and watched as he nodded to F'rus in turn.

E'scar gave each of her riders a quick glare, warning them that they were do exactly as ordered. Seeing them nod to her, she turned to N'ton and noted his nod at F'rus.

…

E'scar saw N'ton's subguard pop between before giving Jelath the signal to fly. With a quick gulp, she ordered him between, noting as she did so that her wing was definitely behind her.

N'eel saw the last of E'scar's riders pop Between. "Alright everyone, let's go char us some Thread!" He yelled as his own team popped Between. In the three seconds he had, he quickly shed a tear, wishing that Happy was with him. However, the suffocating airlessness of the vacuum of space snapped him into action as he took his place to the left of N'ton.

_Geit Weg?_

N'eel grinned, this was it! As the words were spoken, he checked his wing, able to join the yell along with the others, "Weg Geien!"

Hovering over Pole North, N'eel was giving some quick last minute orders, "Even though Thread may freeze up here, we still have to treat this as the real thing. Though I may not have been born here, I am still Pernese. Now, I don't know any of you by name but I know that we all have someone waiting for us Weyrside… and a very short-tempered someone just looking for an excuse to punish us. So let's free the flame and sear the grasses/Till the dawning Red Star passes!"

N'eel saw Thread beginning to fall and then heard over his mike, _Fur Pern!_

At the signal, N'eel flipped the canisters of his flamethrowers, took a deep breath, and led the charge, his guard going on the "streaker run" where the dragon flew belly-to-Thread and breathed fire as a flamethrower was blasted to the left and right. With a loop, he and his guard snapped out before arranging themselves to the right of E'scar's guard, checking to see that N'ton's guard was out of danger. Though it was nippy this far north, it quickly became warmer, prompting N'eel to use his own unique abilities, such as the Fire Dragon Roar to cover more ground. Occassionally, he heard others of his guard give out basic status reports but nothing problematic occurred until a piece of burning Thread hit him mid Streak, sending him flying off his dragon.

E'scar shrieked. "Bronzethird N'eel's been hit! I'm going in to save him!"

_Maintain your position E'scar, leave it to the reserves!_

"But!"

_When your Weyrleader orders you to maintain your position, you maintain your damn position!_

N'eel fell down, down, down. As he fell, he felt his headache grow worse, magic energy rising to the surface. As the headache threatened to split his head, he saw a very familiar and very impossible magic circle form around his back. "Happy?"

_Happy?_

Lucy winced, "He's lost it. Oh, I hope N'ton's wing will catch him in time." Then she noticed a Threadfall coming closer to Erza, "E-E'scar, Thread coming from above!"

N'eel felt the magic explode, felt his wings catch the air. Wait, wings? "I'm alright, somehow I'm flying!" He hollered into his mike. Wanting to unite with Ignath and knowing he had no time, N'eel pulled his wings back, blowing fire from both throwers and his mouth. After a few moments of exhilaration, he was back on his dragon's back, reassuring Ignath that he was fine.

…

R'ton hovered for a moment before activating his mike, "No more Thread here. Orders?"

_Fly. We gotta get back before the Trainees steal all the good meats. L'ssa? Any damages?_

…

L'ssa checked her riders, the exhilaration beginning to fade, "Br'k looks a little shaken but no score or burn to be reported."

"N'eel got nicked with some of that Thread and looks a little worse for wear but he's the only one." N'ton concluded.

"I scratched myself when N'eel flew past me but other than that, we're fine." F'nor piped up.

"I'll kill him! Two collided trying to catch N'eel." P'mur hollered.

"No injuries here!" M'rim concluded, mentally seconding P'mur's statement.

…

Lucy, Gajeel, and Wendy were standing at the front of the Junior Trainees, Gajeel shaking so bad that his Leader Trainee bar looked like a rip in his uniform. At last, Caramath appeared from Between and F'rus was in the air, landing squarely in front of them. "He's alright. In fact, the scoring wasn't his fault, I wasn't checking where my flames were headed. However, E'scar will be in charge of his punishment so he learns that one rider can cause many to be hurt. He will not be on reduced rations. Also, as my own punishment, the Leaders have agreed to the proposal that I handle all injuries from this fall."

Gajeel licked his lips, "What happened? Lucy said that N'eel had been hit but then that he was back on his dragon."

"I will release the details as they come in."

…

Even with the reassurances, the three in the Weyr were worried until Ignath flew in, N'eel landing on his feet. "I need to get some flame." He said before teetering on his feet. When he fell, F'rus caught him, checking his pulse. "He's just exhausted. I'll have E'scar check him to see if it is magical exhaustion."

As each member of N'eel's guard landed, they quickly ran over to him. "Will he be alright?" A newer rider, K'sh asked.

"You try falling three wings down only to suddenly grow wings of your own, fight thread, and still command twelve riders and see how you feel." F'rus said.


	12. The impossible

"Alright, start talking." F'rus was angrier than anyone had ever seen her, causing even "The Great" Erza to flinch. It was two days after and with Grey now back, she was in her quarters with the Fairy Tailers.

"I know of only three wizards that use that particular magic and all three have been missing for months!" E'scar yelled in confusion.

F'rus eyeballed her, "Who are they?"

"Three cats. Each one is called an Exceed and is from another world than Earthland but parallel to it. They each use something called Aero Magic that allows them to sprout wings for a limited amount of time and use attacks of that nature. Each one is partnered to one of the three true dragonslayers of Fairy Tail." E'scar licked her lips before continuing, "Wendy's partner was a white cat known as Carla, Gajeel was partnered with a black panther-like cat named Pantherlily, and Natsu's pal was Happy, the blue cat."

F'rus rubbed the side of her cheek for a moment before speaking up. "Before I came here I loved to read a lot of stories. Some of them were about crossing worlds or times which we have done. In one book, Timeline, the main characters were sent back in time. Now, I won't go into details but in Timeline, they couldn't go back and forth too many times because it caused what they called "conscription errors." Basically, their DNA, you remember what that is right?" Everyone nodded. "Well their DNA wouldn't match up the same and sometimes bones and muscles would shift, causing all sorts of problems."

N'eel thought for a moment. "But what does this…?"

"Now let's set that aside for a moment." F'rus said, hand raised. "In other tales, people have been trapped in the minds of others or have been able to communicate with each other without words, yes similar to us. However…"

"However?" Lucy asked.

"However, what if, like in the dragons, like in Timeline, what if some of you had conscription errors that caused you to merge, not just in mind but in body and power, with your best friends. Or with someone who has powers similar to yours?" F'rus then dropped her voice, "What if you could fly on the wings of your best friend Happy?"

Lucy jerked back, "That's impossible!"

F'rus bent down until her nose was actually touching Lucy's, "It's just as impossible as being called to stand on the victor's podium, being handed your first place medal and then suddenly finding yourself standing in front of an egg the size of you with your feet burning from hot sand. It's just as impossible as looking up at the moon and finding yourself blinking sand from your eyes in broad daylight in a place you had never seen before. You and I both know that there is no longer any such thing as the impossible." F'rus then walked to the door of her chambers before turning around. "Most if not all stories agree that otherworldly travellers are called for a certain task. They also tend to say that once that task is complete, the traveller will return. The question isn't whether you will return but whether you want to." And with that, the red-head opened the door and walked out.

**A.N. In real life, I did not complete Michel Criton's book, Timeline. However, I did get through half of it, good book. I have seen the movie though. Also, I have now caught up to my writing so uploads will go slower.**


	13. Clues

Meanwhile…

Makarav Dreyer sat on the counter of the bar inside his guild hall. The balding white haired man had a mug of beer in each hand but all he did was stare at each one in turn. "How did it come to this Mira?" He asked the white haired barmaiden behind the counter.

Mirajane sighed, "It's been months, and I wonder what has been keeping them? You scoured all of Galuna but no one, not even the residents knew about it."

Makarav sighed, "Natsu's team, Gajeel, Pantherlily, Carla, and Juvia can handle themselves but I wonder about Wendy."

"So master, have you gotten word from the Magic Council?" Mira asked.

"Not enough evidence, it's like they just… vanished." Makarav said, taking a swig of beer.

As Makarav lowered his mug, he heard a knock at the door. Shocked, Makarav slid off the counter and walked to the door. When he answered it, he was unable to bite back a gasp of shock for there, standing in front of him, was his own grandson, a man he had expelled from the guild after attacking guildmates, Lauxus Dreyer.

"Hello Gramps, I heard what happened."

"Lauxus, what are you doing here?"

"Relax, I'm not here to stay, I just wanted to let you know that I was on the island doing some freelance work a few weeks ago and I saw a group there. I'm guessing it was the same day."

Makarav sighed. "Well, any information will be helpful, come in."

…

After a few minutes, Lauxus was sitting with Makarav at a table. Lauxus quickly snatched one of Makarav's mugs and took a swig of beer before beginning. "After I said my goodbyes to the Thunder Legion, I wandered around, thinking about things. Occasionally I'd hear something about Fairy Tail but for the most part, I just travelled. When I heard about an island of demons asking the guilds for help, I quit my job in Hargeon and got a boat there. I figured I could retrofit Thunder Palace to help protect the island and while I was figuring that out, I saw a boat arrive with a group of people and cats. Well I figured it was Fairy Tail so I asked the villagers to not mention me being here and went off to work on my lacrima.

"The moon was covered that night but I was still able to make out a Celestrial Wizard using a digging spirit to make some pits around the village. The rest of the group showed up after that but before they could say anything, the moon came out. I remember it was a blinding white, too white. The group looked up and then a beam of light shot from the moon. Somehow, a magic circle appeared and when the beam of light vanished, so did the group. I saw the circle start to fade so I quickly copied it on a sheet of paper. After that, I spent some months there until I had retrofitted Thunder Palace. As soon as I did, I went to 8-Island and told my boss what had happened. He told me that a team from Fairy Tail had taken the Galuna job and directed me here. Sorry it took so long." Lauxus took another swig before handing a sheet of paper to Makarav. "This symbol here is wrong, I didn't complete it just in case it activated the circle. I still remember there's a straight line on it that makes it look like an R."

At this, Levy McGarden, the guild's resident linguist snatched the paper from Lauxus. "Which symbol was it that you modified?"

Lauxus grabbed the paper and then asked Levy for a light pen. At this, Levy handed a special pen to him that allowed him to write in air. Then, copying the diagram he had, he reproduced it in air. When he was done, he boxed a symbol near the top in, drew an arrow, and wrote down the symbol next to the arrow. "That one there. I wrote the right one next to it. The circle was roughly that size too."

At this, Levy pulled out a special pair of glasses and started trying to decipher the circle.

…

As minutes turned into hours, the rest of the guild gathered around, several giving Lauxus a dirty look. After another half hour, Levy smiled and turned to Makarav. "The circle has more than one spell in it. The main one is a teleportation spell that takes those within it to a specified location and year. The date however is set to change so they would have landed on the same day and time they left but on a different year." Levy then pointed to a group of symbols. "This spell here is to give dragons the power to fly as they should while this one here." Levy pointed to another, "Allows for a holder type wizard to change into a caster type with the same abilities. It says 'through these words, all items of magic power normally needed to cast a spell shall become internalized while retaining their function.' Then there's this last part." Levy pointed to yet another set of symbols. "This one gives the power to fuse together similar types of magic."

Levy let out a breath before snatching her light-pen from Lauxus. Then, she began drawing a table next to the diagram:

Lucy: Celestrial Wizard

Erza: Requip

Grey: Ice Wizard: Icemake

Natsu: Dragonslayer: Fire Wizard: Fire dragonslayer

Happy: Air Wizard: Aero

Gajeel: Dragonslayer: Iron Wizard: Iron dragonslayer

Pantherlily: Air Wizard: Aero

Wendy: Dragonslayer: Air Wizard: Sky dragonslayer

Carla: Air Wizard: Aero

Juvia: Water Wizard: Rain Woman

"Did I get everything?" Levy asked

"Well done child." Makarav said.

"Now I'd guess that Erza would only be affected by the teleport spell. She doesn't use any items to perform her magic, no one else has similar magic, and she isn't a 'dragon.'" Levy said, putting a compass rose symbol by Erza's name. "But the others were probably affected by the other spells."

Readus, the guild's picto-wizard, capable of bringing drawings to life uncapped one of his own light pens and spoke up, "Oi. And Lucy is a holder type wizard who uses gate keys so she'd be affected by the items spell." Readus then put a compass rose and a present by her name.

"And we Dragonslayers are called Dragons sometimes so Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy would have been affected by that." Lauxus said.

At this, Levy drew a dragon wing and a compass rose by the three names in question. After she capped the pen, the guild stared at the four remaining names.

"Wait a moment." Freed, one of the Thunder Legion and another script based wizard said.

Everyone turned to him.

"Juvia's a rain woman right?" Everyone nodded. "And we all know that Grey is an ice wizard." More nods. "Well, they both use water in some way so maybe that's the fusion part." Freed finished, prompting Levy to fill in the compass rose and a cross in front of both names.

"So I take it that this Pantherlily and Carla are cats like Happy?" Lauxus asked.

"Yes. They are all part of a race called the Exceeds." Makarav supplied.

"So they all summon wings?"

"Yes."

"Well if that one section grants dragons the power to fly…" Lauxus trailed off, curious.

Makarav on the other hand, drew a line between Natsu and Happy, Carla and Wendy, and Gajeel and Pantherlily before adding the appropriate symbols. "So now we know what the spell says. Levy, do you think we could reactivate the spell?"

"Of course. But I'm going."

"No." Makarav said. "You and Freed can understand this a lot better than anyone else. I think you need to stay here."

The two stared at each other and nodded.

"I can't go for the same reason." Makarav said with a sigh. "If only we had an Archive Wizard with us."

Several pairs of eyes went up.

"Where ever they are, they might need extra power and an Archive Wizard could help." Makarav said.

"Didn't an Archive Wizard help out with that thing in Worth Woodsea?" Lauxus asked.

"Hibiki. But he's a member of Blue Pegasus and I couldn't ask Bob to split one of his most powerful teams."

"No." Said a voice. "But I could ask him if he'd want to."

Everyone turned to see a familiar looking wizard standing there.

"Mystogan?" Lauxus asked.

"No. I heard that Fairy Tail has a wizard who looks like me so made clothes like his."

Makarav stared. "So you're Jellal?"

The man nodded. "I'm thinking about making an independent guild but then I heard that Erza went missing and…"

"Well, you should be in prison so you could get in through this portal no problem." Makarav said.

"I think that we should get a third wizard to come. Someone who has a connection to one of the missing people." Jellal said.

"I only know of one wizard like that, Lyon Vastia of Lamia Scale."

With that, Jellal nodded and walked out.


	14. G'fox's first Thread

"Then from this moment on, you shall be known as G'fox, Brownsecond of Moons." F'rus said, pinning two stars to Gajeel's uniform. Among those cheering were Grey, now bearing one stripe, Lucy and Wendym now bearing two, E'scar, and N'eel. However, the celebration was short lived as the Weyr's Threadfall alarm had started to ring. "Grey, go check the readout. Everyone else, non-covert uniforms if you please. If we got no warning, I doubt that any of the other Weyrs did either."

…

A few minutes later, Grey was back. "It's already started the initial phase. The Thread is projected to fall over Southern's northwest beach, straight to Poles North, and back down a bit until it's on the other side from High Reaches."

Due to the suddenness of the Threadfall, F'rus wasn't standing on ceremony. "Trainees, I want four new canisters per rider as well as a chunk of stone per each. Divide it up, we'll have to move fast. Riders, you are to take commands on the fly. Your subleader will relay them. For now, you're to be in a star pattern, reverse pecking order." F'rus slipped on her goggles and led the way to the main hall. Luckily, the Trainees were already dragging canisters in, handing a pack of canisters and stone to F'rus.

…

Lyon stared at the beach around him. When a man introducing himself as Mystogan had appeared at Lamia Scale with the news that Grey and the rest of his team had gone missing, Lyon was quick to agree to go. Now, he and the other two members of his team stood on the sand, staring at three moons above them, one with an odd red color to it. Lyon lowered his head to look at his teammates but froze as he saw a strange grey rain begin to fall slowly toward him. Though Lyon had no idea what it was, he somehow knew it was deadly but was unable to move.

…

"Weyrleader, permission to fly?" N'eel said.

_Why?_

"There are people down below and one is in the path of Thread. We won't be able to get close in time to be at a safe height."

_No canisters, flame then return to Ignath._

At that, N'eel gave quick orders to his team to maintain position and then flipped off his dragon.

…

Lyon stared as he saw a human shaped figure break from the strange winged… dragons that were flying above. As the figure got closer, Lyon couldn't help but recognize the figure as Natsu. He gasped, about to call out to the figure for his stupidity when Lyon saw a magic circle appear at Natsu's back.

…

N'eel's wings quickly caught the air and he increased his flight power. As soon as he got close enough, he saw that two of the figures were familiar. However, his training kicked in.

…

"Firedragon roar!"

Lyon gasped as a blast of flame hit the strange rain that was less than a foot from his face. Natsu then flew up, breathing flame as he went, causing the strange rain to fall to the ground, dead.

…

F'rus grinned. "Well done N'eel."

_Aye sir!_

F'rus thought for a moment, flipping the mike to the "All Riders" position. "Alright, listen up. We got three strangers here. R'ton, cover my position. G'fox, Br'k I need you to fly cleanup."

_Me?_

_Understood Weyrleader._

…

Lyon teetered for a moment, shocked at the sight of Natsu flying. However, he quickly put that thought out of his mind when he felt claws lightly dig into his shoulder.

…

Hibiki felt himself being lifted into the air. He saw Lyon sitting on a golden colored dragon, looking confused.

…

Jellal was surprised. A few moments ago, he felt himself being picked up by something but now it had let him go! He was about to draw breath to scream when he felt a bump and found himself staring at the back of a red haired head. Surprised, he spoke up, "Erza?"

F'rus heard the boy behind her but chose to ignore him. "Alright, we took out the trash now let's go mop the floor."

…

Br'k tried to keep her tone light, "If you aren't careful Weyrleader, we'll have to call these moprides instead of sweeprides."

…

G'fox roared with laughter. "Somehow I don't think that'll stick, Goldsecond."

…

Jellal's heart sank. That voice hadn't been Erza's and now he was on a strange beast. He just hoped that he wasn't going to have to reveal himself. Dimly, he heard the person in front of him say something that sounded like "go away" before he was suddenly in strange blackness.

In front of him, F'rus slid into her position at the top of the column of dragons and began barking orders, "Br'k, G'fox no fancy stuff now. Don't forget, we have untrained folks with us." When she heard the two riders speak up, F'rus flipped the tops of her canisters and reactivated them.

…

Jellal was amazed. Below him, he saw these strange dragons flame at the weird rain while the riders were using special canisters to supply a more complete burn. When he heard a click, he looked up to see the driver slip one of the canisters into her belt before pulling something out and tying it to the other canister, repeating the prossess with the holstered one. He heard the girl order someone to "pass it down" and then watched as the rider chucked both canisters off the dragon.

F'rus barked an order to Grey, ordering him to activate the buoys, a mechanism she had just finished with G'fox's help, not long before. After that was done, she knelt on her dragon, popping up with two more canisters.

Jellal spoke up, "What are those things?"

"HNO₃, it's a compound of Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and three atoms of Oxygen. We use it as a flamethrower. Though most still call it agenothree, that's its real name." F'rus said, eyeballing one of the canisters for damage. "I got some spares, want to use 'em?"

Jellal paused, "What, me?"

"Mhm, it's how N'eel got his start back when he was Natsu Dragneel."

Jellal jumped, "Natsu's here?"

"Mhm. He's Bronzethird. So I take it you're from Fairy Tail?" F'rus inquired, passing the two flamethrowers to Jellal. She then grabbed another pair, checked them, and then flipped them on.

"Well…"

"Let me guess." F'rus said over the hiss of fire, "You aren't a member but you're masquerading as one. I noticed you have a blue tattoo."

"Yes."

F'rus flipped her mike up, "Grey, you alive?"

_Yes Weyrleader._

"We picked up a trio of strangers and I think you might know them."

_Go ahead._

"Didn't get a good look at the other two, G'fox and Br'k picked them up, but the one I got says he isn't in Fairy Tail but he does have a blue tattoo."

_Jellal Ferdinanz._

"Good thing I always keep a spare mike on hand." At that, F'rus directed Caramath to pull back and hover. When he did so, F'rus pulled something out of a pocket and then hopped up on her dragon, turned, and walked over to Jellal. "Here, turn those off for a second and take that headband over."

"But."

"For the love of god, just do it while I mike you."

Jellal slipped one of the canisters under an arm and then took off the head coverings. F'rus then stuck some goggles on Jellal's head and then connected a strange device to them. When she was done, F'rus put Jellal's head coverings back on and then walked back to the dragon's neck, ordering Caramath to catchup.

Jellal was startled when he heard a voice in his head.

_C'rod wrenched his shoulder catching the canisters_

Before Jellal could say anything, he heard F'rus speak up, both in front of him and in his ear.

_C'rod, I want you doing arm stretches when we get Weyrside for a sevenday._

Then, Jellal heard a familiar voice, _Weyrleader, canisters have landed seaside, tracking now._

_Well done Grey._

Shocked, Jellal spoke up, "Grey?"

_Well hello Jellal, let me get the others. If you had arrived a day later you would have missed them._

_Oh fine Grey, half minute each._

_Yes Weyrleader._

"I can't allow any more time since he needs to be paying attention to the whole deal, not just us." F'rus explained.

_Jellal, I thought you were in prison!_

"Lucy?"

_Yup._

Grey's voice came over the mike, _Sorry man, she has to go but Wendy's here._

_Jellal!_

"Hi Wendy, When I heard you guys were missing and Lauxus brought back some information, I offered to go.

_Wait! _Natsu's voice rang out, _Lauxus? But he was kicked out!_

"Later Natsu."

_It's N'eel_

_Jellal! You're alive!_

"Erza?"

_It's me._

_Bronzeleaders, man your positions!_

_Sorry!_

_Aye sir!_

"G'fox is also of Fairy Tail, he's got one of your friends right now." F'rus said.

"But how?"

"Later."


	15. Answers

At last, the silver-grey threads stopped falling and F'rus was running her check, "Alright, Goldleader-Greensecond."

_No injuries_

_Same_

_None here_

_Nope _Erza's voice rang out

_I'll need a nap from the Aero-Roar combo. _N'eel said.

_Just C'rod_

_No one here but the blondie really looks scared_

_We're fine_

_No problems here_

_Clinth mangled a claw but nothing else_

_We're good!_

"C'rod's got his punishment, J'ralth and Clinth are on half rations for lunch tomorrow though. Br'k, G'fox, you'll land with your guards and then the passengers will dismount after everyone's grounded."

F'rus slipped off Caramath and made room for R'ton's Pellimorth before turning to face the three Trainees in front of her. "One of them almost got hit by Thread. They were all on the same beach we found you on though."

Wendy, Grey, and Lucy exchanged glances before Grey spoke up, "Did you grab the canisters?"

"Mmm." F'rus said, handing the empties over as the last greenrider landed. Now out of her gear, F'rus waved everyone but the Fairy Tailers and leaders off.

…

Jellal couldn't help but feel a little joy over flying on a dragon. Now however, he noticed the dragon he was on was landing and there were five familiar faces among a small knot of unfamiliar faces. He noticed that each one looked different than when he had last seen them while taking down the magic known as Nirvana. Now, each one seemed to carry a great weight, one that made them happy. Grey, Lucy, and Wendy had a light tunic made of hide over some matching pants while Erza and Natsu had thicker ones.

Lucy handed F'rus, Natsu, and Erza a tunic each and all three riders excused themselves. When they had returned, they saw that Jellal had been joined by two others.

"Right then." F'rus said, "Since we already had dinner, we'll head straight to the new meeting hall. Lucy, Wendy, Grey, could you get three more chairs?"

"At once, Weyrleader." Grey piped up.

…

F'rus sat down, gesturing for her Trainees and guests to take the vacant seats. The huge table they were at was made of redwood, a tricky find for the Woodcraftmaster. Thankfully, there was a small grove of redwoods on Pern and the huge table had been completed a few days prior. The chair she was sitting on had her name and station engraved on in as did those for R'ton, L'ssa, Br'k, N'ton, E'scar, N'eel, F'nor, G'fox, P'mur, K'lad, M'rim, and J'ral. Lucy, Wendy, and Grey sat down at the vacant seats for the Goldthird, Brownthird, and Bluethird while Jellal sat at the Greenthird's seat and the other two sat on the supplied chairs. F'rus pulled a face as she thought about what she had to deal with.

"I suppose." She said at last, "That introductions are in order." F'rus rubbed her eyes before putting a battered up pair of eyeglasses on. When the headache cleared, she took them off and spoke once again. "Before we get to that however, I will explain things to you. First off, the planet you are on is known as Pern which stands for Parallels Earth, Resources Negligible." F'rus took a drink of the special hot-chocolate she had made, pulling a face at how barky it tasted. "A long time ago, I was transported several years into my future to Pern. After breaking tradition by Impressing or partnering Caramath, I ran away to keep my Weyrleader from trouble. After wandering around, I established Poles Weyr, now known as Poles Hold.

"At the Southern Weyr Hatching, that is of dragons, the silver-grey rain you saw began to fall. As a dragonrider, and a Weyrleader at that, it was my duty to fly and burn it from the ground. If we didn't, we would be left with a ravaged planet. When I was calling for flamethrowers, I heard a pink haired boy say he wanted to ride one. Knowing I'd be able to handle another rider, I called for more flamethrowers and helped the boy up. After the Fall and Hatching, I offered to let the boy and his five companions to stay at my Weyr while they looked for their four missing friends. We were unable to find them but three of them became full-fledged riders while two became trainee riders."

F'rus looked at the three expressions of shock. "Now, introductions. When I arrived on Pern, I took the name Fyrius. Now, I am F'rus, Weyrleader of Moons Weyr."

R'ton turned. "Once I was the Masterharper but now I am R'ton, Weyrman of Moons."

"L'ssa, Goldleader of Moons."

"Br'k, Goldsecond of Moons."

"You guys know me as Lucy, Fairy Tail's strongest and only Celestial Wizard. Here however, I am Lucy Heartfilia, Senior Trainee of Moons Weyr."

"I am N'ton, Bronzeleader of Moons."

"First of all, I am glad to see you safe Jellal, I was worried. I know you remember me as Erza Scarlet but here I am E'scar, Bronzesecond of Moons."

"And I'm N'eel, Bronzethird of Moons."

"F'nor, Brownleader of Moons."

"I can tell that none of you recognize me. Once, I was Gajeel Redfox, Phantom Lord's dragonslayer. After Fairy Tail took us down, I joined them and became their second Dragonslayer. When I was in Phantom, they called me Black-Steel Gajeel as I am the Iron Dragonslayer. Until a few hours ago, I was still Gajeel Redfox. Now however, I am G'fox, Brownsecond of Moons."

"Lyon, Hibiki, Jellal I am surprised to see you here in front of me. Like Lucy, I don't have a new name. I am Grey Fullbuster, Leader Trainee of Moons."

"P'mur, Blueleader of Moons."

"J'ral, Bluesecond of Moons."

"And I'm still Wendy, but I'm Wendy Marvell, Senior Trainee of Moons."

"M'rim, Greenleader of Moons."

"K'lad, Greensecond of Moons."

"My name is Jellal Ferdinanz."

"I'm Lyon Vastia."

"And I'm Hibiki Lates."

F'rus stretched before turning to the Fairy Tailers. "So, what is their story?"

E'scar spoke up, "Jellal is the same Jellal involved in the Tower of Heaven. Later, he lost his memory and became a better person who helped us take down Nirvana. After that, he was imprisoned for his past crimes and I never saw him again."

Grey then continued, "Lyon was a fellow student of Ur's and the head of the Delliora incident. Afterward, he joined Lamia Scale and helped with Nirvana."

Lucy finished. "Hibiki also helped with the Nirvana incident, coming from Blue Pegasus' Trimes."

Satisfied, F'rus turned to the group, "Do you know how you arrived here?"

Jellal spoke up. "Apparently, Lauxus Dreyer was at Galuna Island on the same day as all of you. He witnessed what happened. After finishing the job on Galuna, he sought help from a former Magic Council member who pointed him to Fairy Tail. When he arrived, he gave Levy McGarden a copy of the magic circle that he had made, with one letter altered. Levy was able to translate the spell…"

"What does it say?" F'rus asked when he trailed off.

"It's in four parts. The first applied to all of you, to transport you to a certain place on a certain year, at the day and time you left. Then it gets complicated. The next part was to allow dragons to fly." Jellal broke off as N'eel burst out laughing.

…

After a few moments, everyone but Jellal, Lyon, and Hibiki had caught the giggles. When everyone calmed down, F'rus spoke up with a grin, "We discovered that when N'eel fell off Ignath and scared everyone silly. So, I can assume that N'eel, G'fox, and Wendy were affected but who else?"

"After Levy drew a chart and we narrowed things down, we came to the conclusion that Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy have fused with their partners; that is, Happy fused with Natsu, Pantherlily with Gajeel, and Carla with Wendy."

At this, F'rus looked at the three, "Well it looks like the conscription error theory was accurate." She then looked at Jellal, "And the third part?"

"We believe that only Lucy was affected by the third part. That section of the spell basically fused holder-type magic to its user and allowed that person to use it as caster-type magic."

While the dragon part and the Pern part were known, looks were exchanged at the news about the magic type change. "Wait, so Lucy can summon her spirits without their keys?" F'rus asked.

"From what I was told, the keys are in her mind so she can summon those she has the same way I can summon my magic or Lyon or Hibiki or any other Caster Wizard."

"Lucy, you are NOT to try this without supervision and not until after your training."

"Yes Weyrleader."

"And the final part?"

"We believe that it applies to two of you. The last part stated that wizards with similar abilities would have them fused together. Since Juvia Lockster uses water and Grey Fullbuster makes things with ice, we came to the conclusion that Grey is now an Ice Wizard and a Rainman."

At this, Grey stood up, "Whoa whoa whoa, are you telling me that I'm Juvia?"

"It's a theory but if we are right, you will be able to use Juvia's abilities as well as your own."

"Makes sense."

Everyone turned at the Weyrleader's words.

"Well I always wondered why six of you wound up in the same place but four vanished into thin air. I also wondered why, if you all came from the exact same place, one of you didn't have headaches while the other five did." F'rus paused. "Perhaps the headaches are caused by excess magical energy that you haven't been able to handle. When N'eel fell off Ignath, this excess power was released and he was able to instinctively use it. When he did, his body was able to absorb the energy and it no longer affects him."

At this, everyone nodded some reluctantly while others were quick to accept it.

"Now unfortunately, two of us have to get up early tonight so we will have to continue the conversation without them." F'rus said, nodding at Lucy and Wendy. With a look, the two got up and left.

…

"Thankfully, I am almost done. Jellal and Hibiki, what magic do you use?"

"I use Heavenly Body Magic. It allows me to channel the power of the stars and planets to cast spells." Jellal said.

"And I use Archive Magic. It allows me to turn magic into data and use it that way." Hibiki said.

"And I am guessing you use icemake magic, right Lyon?"

"Dynamic Icemake Magic is my specialty. Where Grey uses magic that stays where it is, mine is free to move around."

"Now, I have one more question. While you are figuring out how to return home, would you like to stay at the Weyr?"

N'eel, E'scar, Grey, and surprisingly enough, G'fox stood up and urged them to join.

"Silence!" F'rus roared, "It is their decision. If you do join, you will be under me but I am in a similar situation as you. You will be presented as Candidates at Hatchings and may become riders. I recommend it as we are different from the other Weyrs but it is your choice."

Hibiki thought about it before answering, "Of course. I can use my magic anywhere and it would be good to live with other wizards."

At that, Lyon and Jellal nodded.


	16. Senior training

Diary of Lucy Heartfilia, December 16th

Today Wendy and I start our training as Moons Riders. Even after they Impressed, Grey, G'fox, N'eel, and E'scar seemed normal. But I noticed they all changed after training. Though they always joked around about training and told us horror stories, I noticed that on those rare serious moments, they all agreed that the training was the hardest thing they had ever done. N'eel said that it made eating ether-nano seem easy while Grey compared it to the first days of training under Ur. E'scar said that it was harder than all of her days at the Tower of Heaven and G'fox said that it was nothing like his fight with N'eel. Well, I'll write when I have the time but I have to go down to breakfast.

…

Lucy sat down next to Wendy and stuffed a piece of toast into her mouth. Next to her, Wendy was nibbling on some porridge with a nervous look.

"What's wrong Lucy?"

Lucy turned to see Hibiki in Weyr uniform, scratching at his shoulder. Behind him, Jellal was chatting with E'scar while Lyon and Grey were catching up.

"It's the training. When you become a Senior Trainee, you do special training. When you complete it, you are officially done with training and able to take on any obstacle better than the other Weyrs but…"

Wendy looked up, "I heard that we'll be pushed to our breaking point and beyond. We learn a whole new way of riding and fighting but the training is extremely tough."

Hibiki sat down and the girls saw that he had the Pre-Candidate bar on his shoulder. "So how long until I have to do it?"

Lucy grinned. "Well first you have to get picked for Hatching. I was picked for the Weyr's third one. Then, you have to Impress a dragon. I Impressed on the fifth Hatching, my third try. Wendy also Impressed on the fifth one but it was her second. Then, you have to take a test before you can become a Trainee and be accepted into the Weyr. I can't tell you what it is though. After that, you learn about the other Weyrs as a Junior Trainee. After that, you become a Senior and then you do the special training."

Hibiki stared at her.

"Senior Trainees to the Main Hall please!" F'rus called from the High Table.

At that, Wendy and Lucy gulped and then left.

…

"Once you were holder's sons and daughters or weyrfolk or even simple wizards." F'rus was leaning on one of the walls of the Weyr, secretly relieved that the portal system had been completely finished. "Then, you were chosen to become riders of Moons. You froze for three chilly days, wondering whether you would die or live and unsure which you would prefer. Now you are entering your second and in some cases last phase of training. You've heard the stories, heard the nightmares. Although some of them are stories, I will warn you that you will be pushed so far you won't know up from down or left from right. However, you will leave training able to conquer anything. Senior Trainees, I wish you luck."

As these words died, Lucy was called to a circle marked on the ground. When she stepped in it, a light shone and she vanished.

…

Lucy gasped, staring at the familiar cavern around her. There was the crack that was said to connect North and South Poles, there was the place where she had slept for weeks, and there was the spot where N'eel had tested his fire-breath. Though the Hold was now empty, Lucy could see all the evidence to know that she was in North Poles.

"Don't you remember when we were told to jump in that crack?" Granet, a green Trainee asked.

Lucy and Wendy looked at him for a moment before Lucy spoke up, "Oh, that's right you came here as a Candidate."

"You didn't?

"No, I came here as a Pre-Candidate. Back then, this was the Weyr. I didn't notice before that it was so empty."

**Greetings Senior Trainees.**

The group of Trainees began looking here and there for the voice. After a moment, Wendy spoke up, hoping that no one noticed how shakey her voice was. "Where are you? Show yourself!"

**I am the very mountain you are standing in. When Fyrius and Caranmanth came here, seeking shelter, they felt my presence. Later, they wished to make this a Weyr after talking to me. When Fyrius arrived next, she and a group of Weyr-riders were taught by me and in gratitude, they made this their Weyr. After a while, they decided that they would need to expand and began to move to the two moons of Pern, leaving this place for training. Now you too will train as they did. Please call your dragons.**

Diary of Lucy Heartfilia, December 17

After we called our dragons, we were shown shadow models of how to rider while keeping our hands free. Once we figured it out, we were ordered to fly into the crack in the ground which really was connected to South Pole. The whole day, we did everything on our dragons, even listening to lectures. The dragons are getting trained too, each one is required to hover in place. Today we'll be learning our turns and the dragons will learn how to manage flame bursts, reducing the amount of flame needed. We'll also be trained on spin drills and other attack movements.

…

Lucy put down her pen and stretched, nudging Wendy awake.

"When's breakfast?" Wendy asked.

Lucy sighed, yesterday's piece of toast seeming to be eaten a sevenday ago.

Around them, the others woke up, wondering the same thing

**Mount your dragons.**

Lucy grumbled while Gareth swore. Unfortunately, the group knew better than to argue with the Hold, each one mounting.

**Too slow. Everyone off. If you are caught by a surprise Fall, you can't crawl up your dragon. **A shadow diagram of a dragon appeared. **If you look, you can see that there are certain parts of the dragon that jut out, mainly the kneecap and the thigh joint. To speed up your ascent, jump onto the kneecap and then use your boot to hoist yourself over the thigh joint. From there, you can hop up onto the dragon and settle in place.**

Lucy found herself longing for a whip as she was ordered back down once again. Though she was smaller, Wendy had found that her sky-dragon magic gave her amazing jumping abilities. Now, Wendy was practicing dismount procedures, working on landing on her feet.

…

After a few hours, Lucy was mounted on Laylith and working on her turns. **You're not leaning hard enough. Though you are a rider, you still are helping Laylith with her turn by leaning in the right direction. You need to get used to a hard lean since there will be times when you need to put her in a rapid spin to get more flame. **At this, Lucy grimaced and leaned harder, glad that Laylith's turns were improving.

…

At last, the group was back on the ground, each person and dragon dropping to the ground in exhaustion.

Diary of Lucy Heartfilia, December 19th

The hard riding of the past few days has toughened my muscles. Though Laylith is a Queen and can't chew Firestone, she still had to participate in the drills. I'm just glad that we should be almost done. The pain was too much to bear and hunger and thirst are starting to take their toll but we are flying better. When I look out at the rest of the riders, I could swear that it was like watching the Weyr fight.

…

Lucy jumped onto Laylith, checking her canisters for leaks and other damage. Finding none, she turned to the wall where they received their instructions.

**Today we will learn the fire-spin. To execute this, you and your dragon will have to work together, leaning to the left or right sharp and at the same time. If you don't lean hard enough, your dragon will collide with a wall or guardmate. If you are out of sync, you will fall. However, this is the final move and is extremely worthwhile.**

"Ready Laylith?"

_Yes Lucy_

"1…2…3!"

Though Lucy was used to similar maneuvers, she still couldn't help but gasp as she went into a rapid spin. At a command, she slowly righted herself, Laylith picking up on the thought and slowing.

…

After many hours of spinning, Lucy was glad that she hadn't eaten for days, knowing that she would have a mess to clean up otherwise.

**While speaking out loud is a good way to communicate with your dragon, there are times when it can be inappropriate, such as in Between or deep space. To combat this, hold a specific thought in your brain and project it at your dragon. Dragons, when you hear your rider, send a separate thought back.**

Lucy tried to think of something before mentally screaming, _this is ridiculous!_

_Lucy, you're hurting my head._

_You heard that?_

_Yes._

…

**And finally, if you are close to someone, you can project your thoughts directly to them. However, you need to make sure you know the person as well as the thought. If you don't, you will project to anyone nearby instead of the person you are talking to. While you are at the Weyr, practice communicating with your dragon at all times, even while riding. You may now dismount and return home.**

Lucy sat on Laylith for a moment before that last command sank in. When it did, she led the shout of, "We passed!"

…

Lucy walked into one of the outer portals on the moon and suddenly was standing in front of the Leaders and Pre-Candidates. Seeing Lucy and the rest of the Seniors return, F'rus walked forward and looked at each of them before shooing the Pre-Candidates away. "In my world, that regime would be similar to that used in all branches of our military. This Basic Training, simply referred to as Basic, was designed so that the officer would be ready for anything. Before I release you all to the Weyr, you must remember not to breathe a word of your training to others. Lucy."

Lucy turned to F'rus. "Yes Weyrleader?"

"I know you have been keeping a diary. As such, you will need to either enchant it or keep it locked up when not writing in it or reading. If you had known about the training, you might not have gone through it or even prepared differently."

"Understood."

"Now then, each of you is to find something productive to do. Wendy, Lucy, I believe that Hibiki, Jellal, Lyon, E'scar, N'eel, G'fox, and Grey are working on installing a computer system and they have asked to have you join them." At that, F'rus turned around and walked off, thinking about what to say at the Council Meeting in two days' time.


	17. Conclave: To the Red Star?

F'rus landed on the Senior Queen's Ledge of Fort Weyr before walking inside. Unlike her time at Benden, the guards had been warned and had thus let her pass with no problem. A moment later, R'ton had landed and the two walked side-by-side to the Council Chambers. Arriving there, the two paused, taking the time to see who had shown. Satisfied, F'rus moved on, taking one of the vacant seats with R'ton taking the one to her right.

…

A few moments later, the moderator for the group, D'ram stood up. "Before we move on to negotiations, I would like to take the time to learn the name of our newest member."

At this, R'ton stood up, "I am R'ton, Second in command of Moon Weyr."

Several of the riders looked at him in shock, wondering why he sounded so familiar and so male.

D'ram however, spoke up, "Several of the Lords Holder have reported that Firestone has gone missing along with other resources."

F'rus lifted a hand. "For that, I apologize. I was worried about the strain on the mines and took some of each Hold's firestone before we discovered a mine of our own. As it is a new vein, we have riders currently restoring the missing Firestone. With help from the Masterherdsman, we have also developed several strains of beast suitable for the snowy wastes where our Hold lies." F'rus looked at each Lord Holder before continuing. "We have also begun to make jerky from our herdbeasts along with other assorted animal related items. We plan to distribute them at the next Gather. Also, I wish to express my thanks for the wonderful table that the Woodcraftsmen have made for us."

D'ram looked at F'rus in shock before speaking once more. "After the unfortunate trip to the Red Star by F'nor of Benden, we have been working to seed the North with grubs that are currently in use in the South."

F'rus coughed and D'ram turned. "F'lar, did F'nor give a report about the Star's makeup at all?"

F'lar jerked back a bit before remembering F'rus' warning, "No. However, he was badly burned, leading me to believe that the temperature was too hot for us to go. He also mentioned fierce winds and…"

"So it was extremely hot." F'rus said.

"Yes."

"Well, if it passed close to the sun then that would explain it."

"Pardon?" D'ram asked.

"Well, we all know that the Red Star passes close to Pern for 50 Turns before being too far away for 200-400. This leads me to believe that it is spinning around the sun. If we assume that this is correct then we can assume that the Star will look different as it heads back toward the sun. Again, assuming I am correct, we may be able to scout the Red Star in relative safety later on. However, if we did this, I think it would be safe for Master Fanderal to rig up a device for storing Pernese air for use in the expedition."

At this, Fanderal got a funny look but D'ram quickly steered the conversation back to the present. "I don't see what this has to do with anything at the moment."

"I apologize."

"As we are all aware, Thread continues to fall in an erratic fashion…"

F'rus nodded, "A sevenday ago, we almost missed a Threadfall, we had no warning at all."

D'ram raised his voice, causing many to laugh, "As such, I believe we should continue the precautions set up some time ago, sweepriders and firebeacons as well as a dragon in every Hold and Crafthall…"

…

"God, I miss the days when we were starting up. That was so dull." F'rus huffed at R'ton.

"You'll get used to it." R'ton said, before humming something to himself.

"I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad one." F'rus said, then turned to look at the Red Star.

"F'rus?"

F'rus turned to see F'lar standing there.

"Hm?"

"How sure are you that we can actually explore the Red Star?"

"Not very."

F'lar raised his brow.

"See, I get the feeling that there isn't that much atmosphere around the Star. This would put huge strain on the dragon AND rider. Also, the likelihood that any atmosphere would be similar to ours is… slim. However, I get the feeling that something was already done to try and fix the Red Star."

F'lar's mouth flew open, "What do you mean?"

"The Long Intervals and the erratic Threadfall."

"Explain."

F'rus gestured to R'ton who quickly handed over a blank skin and pen.

"See, if my theory is right, the Red Star can't be moving on its own, right?"

F'lar nodded.

"So something has to be pushing and pulling it away. The biggest thing here is the Sun, Rukbat." F'rus drew a circle and then a little circle with a path around it and then another little circle with an ovoid path. "Now I'm guessing this is the Star's path and this is Pern's path. There were Long Intervals between the 3rd and 4th Passes as well as the 8th and 9th, right?"

F'lar nodded.

"But for some reason, the Long Intervals didn't last 250 Turns or even 300, they lasted 400. That's exactly twice the length of a normal Interval, right?"

F'lar nodded again.

"Well, that means that something had to have pushed the Star away right before the Pass. That's just not possible without assistance. The only way that could happen was an explosion or or something."

F'lar stared.

"Now Thread probably used up all of the Ancient's machines so how could an explosion occur at those times? We don't have the technology to do it."

F'lar coughed, "You've been thinking a lot about this, have you?"

F'rus shook her head, "I just want to help out. Well, enough chit-chat, I have a Weyr to manage." At that, F'rus jumped off the cliff, followed by R'ton.

…

"So it was all about Threadfall and our thieving?" N'eel asked incredulously.

"Mhm. Luckily, we are self-sufficient now so we don't need to jip anything else."

N'ton leaned back with a yawn, "It's always like that during Fall. You forget that our duty is to fight Thread, not have a tea-party."


	18. Connection: They're safe!

**A.N. So, do I actually have readers right now? Well even if I don't, I'm still posting this. If anyone made it this far, congratulations! In this chapter, Hibiki will get through to Makarav and Bob (Since Bob is his own master.) Also, it's probably obvious why this is rated T. As F'rus is actually myself, I left everything unedited. Though as I mentioned before, I don't really have that many readers, I will not stop writing until I finish this. Now for those of you who have followed my stories, I don't always get to 20 chapters. In honor of that, I will do specials for both fanfics I am working on.**

"Do you, Lucy Heartfilia swear to fight Thread no matter where it falls at the cost of your life?"

Lucy forced her grin off of her face, "I do."

"Do you swear that no utterance of what goes on here will escape your lips as long as you shall live?"

"I do."

"Then from this moment on, I name L'fil, Goldthird of Moons."

"Wendy, you have seen the blood spilled for Pern and healed much of it."

"Yes."

"Do you swear to fight Thread no matter where it falls at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"And do you swear that no utterance of what goes on here shall leave your lips as long as you live?"

"Then I name you W'mar, Greenthird of Moons."

…

After Lucy received her stars, Lucy, no L'fil sat down at the High Table, looking out on the crowd. There was Jellal, Junior Trainee of Moons. Over there were Hibiki and Lyon. L'fil remembered when all she had to worry about was paying rent and keeping Natsu in line. Now she was third in command of a group of dragons! At that moment, she knew that she was no longer the runaway Lucy of Fairy Tail, she was truly L'fil of Moons Weyr!

…

Makarav Drayar stood at a special guild conference, talking to his friend Bob about the missing Wizards. "I'm not sure if I did the right thing, sending others after them. I mean, sure I had to see that they were safe but how could we know that if this portal is one way?"

"Makie, if I know you, you'll personally pull them out in such a way that the rest of us will not know what happened."

_Master Makarav, Master Bob, can you hear me?_

Bob and Makarav froze, their looks telling the other that they heard.

"Who is this?" Makarav said.

"Hibiki Lates? Is that you?"

…

Hibiki punched a fist in the air before linking the others to the call. "Guys, we got the masters of Blue Pegasus and Fairy Tail online."

…

Bob nodded to Makarav, permitting him to speak first, "Have you found Lucy, Erza, Natsu, Happy, Carla, Wendy, Pantherlily, Grey, Gajeel, and Juvia?"

Lucy's voice echoed a response, _Actually, N'eel found them._

"N'eel?"

_Hi Gramps! _Natsu's voice called.

_Yeah, what Pyro said. _Grey's voice called out.

_I'm here too. _Came Gajeel's voice.

_I'm sorry for worrying you. _Came Erza's polite response.

_Lyon and I are here also. _Jellal added.

"What about the cats and Juvia?" Makarav said.

…

L'fil sucked in a breath. "They've merged with some of us according to Jellal."

…

"Merged?" Makarav inquired.

_Yes. I've isolated the cases. Happy has merged with N-Natsu, Juvia with Grey, Carla with Wendy, and Pantherlily with Gajeel. _An unfamiliar voice called out.

"Who is this?"

_Weyrleader F'rus of Moons Weyr._

"Pardon?"

_I'm their commanding officer. After Natsu found the other three, Hibiki has been trying to connect with you. Unfortunately, he can't get a connection with the head of Lamia Scale. Could you oblige?_

"I suppose."

…

F'rus grinned and began to open her mouth when she heard the alarm.

…

_Hibiki, you're on computer duty, remember? Let's hope this program you and I built will work!_

"What's going on?" Makarav and Bob yelled.

_Hibiki, what's the trajectory?_

…

"Hibiki, what's the trajectory?" F'rus said, clipping into her gear.

_Answer me, what trajectory?_

"Trainees, get your sorry asses in gear!"

…

Makarav and Bob sighed as they walked out of the Council Hall. Tough Hibiki was maintaining the connection, it was obvious that he wasn't focused on what was going on.

…

"Hibiki, if you get any strain, drop the communication or I will have your hide."

_Yes Weyrleader._

F'rus grinned as she called the wings together. Unfortunately, there was no longer any room to have every dragon land. Because of this, she'd have to give orders before they mounted. "Alright, Hibiki's got the trajectory. Unfortunately, it's starting right before Fort and ending at that point going Eastward. This means, we'll be losing a few riders but that's why we train as well as we do. L'fil, W'mar, you were taught by a master so don't worry. I gave you your commands because you earned them. Alright, formation is up to you but if I need an adjustment, I'll let you all know. We'll be flying in color, Gold to Green. Ok?"

F'rus and R'ton mounted, checking that M'rim, K'lad, and W'ram were in place before going Between.

…

Though the Guild Master's conference was over, Makarav and Bob quickly found a spot by a tree instead of heading home, curious.

…

F'rus looked around, noting that W'mar was a little nervous at the lack of air. However, she was the only one with problems and even she was ready to go.

…

_Geit Weg? _Makarav and Bob looked at each other, curious. However, the resounding shout caused them to jump for they heard so many people including Wendy, Natsu, Gajeel, Erza, Lucy, and Grey, _Weg Geien!_

…

"Fur Pern!" F'rus cried, opening up her throwers and causing hell for Thread.

…

Now Makarav and Bob could hear roaring fire and strange sounding reports. But one caused concern for them,

…

_Permission to fly?_

F'rus grumbled before sending a message to Hibiki, "Is that Magic Energy checker up and running?"

_Finished it just this morning, N'eel is full to the brim._

F'rus sucked in a breath, "N'eel, don't push it but you are good to go."

…

Makarav leaned on the tree and wondered who N'eel was and why Natsu was asking to fly.

_Alright Weyrleader, drill on! _

_Just because you are the Fire Dragonslayer doesn't mean you can try anything big, y'ah hear?_

_Yes Weyrleader!_

"Wait, is N'eel Natsu?"

…

F'rus snickered, "Took you long enough, dinit?" She then scanned the lines, relieved that nothing was going wrong. "Alright Hibiki, how are G'fox and W'ram holding?"

_Clear to fly, hundred percent!_

"G'fox, how're your canisters?"

_Barely full._

"Detach."

"_Drill on!"_

"W'ram, drop to Queenlevel and detach. Don't forget that you have to focus the power before you can deploy the wings."

_Riding Queenlevel, drill on!"_

"Alright Hibiki, keep an eye on their levels. W'ram's never done this so make sure to keep hers monitored closely."

…

N'eel whooped, the feel of air on his wings as he spiraled through Thread as a flaming comet making any worry go away. Below him, W'mar was grinning while next to her, G'fox was giving one of his rare smiles. As he flamed, he noticed N'ton sliding into his spot, flamethrowers at the ready.

_W'mar, you're at 25%, return to Gradeenath_

_Yes Weyrleader._

…

F'rus rubbed her eyes, wishing she didn't have to fight all the time. "D'arvit G'fox, you cut that too close!"

_Sorry Weyrleader. I'm heading back, I think I'm getting to my limit._

"N'eel? What's your status?"

_I got a few more moments before I gotta go but I'm en-route._

"Don't get cocky."


	19. Song of Origin

At last, the Fall was over and everyone was eating, glad that there had been no casualties. However, the main topic of discussion was the Red Star. "I know you were injured trying a jump there F'nor but we need to figure out where Thread is coming from. Is it from the Star itself or is the Star a carrier?"

"You're mad Weyrleader, even if we could get there without getting hurt, how are we going to stay there?"

"We could use W'mar's power."

"You know what I think?" R'ton asked, pulling out his gitar.

F'rus grinned, ran to her room, and came back out with a strange case. After she had made the Weyr, she had gathered up supplies and with Fandarel's help, had made a reproduction of her treasured set of Orchestra Bells. In the keyboard instrument class, Orchestra Bells had the smallest range and some of the best sound, only topped by a Vibraphone. She had then asked the Harpers to check it for proper sound before completing it.

At this, P'mur ran out and came back with a small drum, causing F'rus and R'ton to shake their heads. However, F'rus shrugged and pulled out her set, running a few scales and short tunes she remembered from Earth. At last, she nodded.

…

P'mur looked R'ton, curious about the man's plan. Finally, the Masterharper turned to F'rus, "Maybe we should use this time to learn about our Ancestors?"

F'rus grinned and held out her hand for P'mur's drum. When he obliged, F'rus used some silverware to give him a rhythm, dum-duhduhduh-dum. Dum dum dum. P'mur copied it on his tunic until F'rus handed back the drum. Next, she turned to R'ton with a frown on her face, thinking. Should I use that tune from Serengeti? (I have no idea how to reproduce that without sheet music) At last she grinned and scribbled a few notes on a sheet of hide.

R'ton stared at F'rus, shocked at her notations, "I heard you played but it is a rare person that can read and write music."

F'rus chuckled, "I surprise a lot of people. I have trouble with the Bass Clef, but I read Treble quite well. You'll have to transpose on your own but what I wrote equates to the flute."

"Flute you say?"

F'rus nodded and then whistled the tune, hoping she remembered it well enough.

Sensing a good tune, the Weyr leaned in, eager to hear it.

…

"P'mur, start." F'rus said.

P'mur obliged, F'rus nodding in time to the music. Satisfied, she turned to R'ton.

"On next downbeat, backwards scale then that piece."

R'ton waited before leaping in expertly. As he hit the first note of the piece, F'rus went into the piece as well, the three checking to see that they were blending well. Finally, F'rus made a cutting motion with her hand, cleared her throat, and began to sing…

…

"Back before Weyrs were raised,

Back before the Hold.

Lay a planet of much plenty,

Birthplace of human race.

…

Yet man razed his home,

Needing more and more.

'Till the land was used up,

How would they survive?"

F'rus motioned for P'mur to begin playing.

"We shall find a new land,

Give up the old ways.

Return to good old days,

Where we worked our land.

…

So they sought a new land,

For to live in peace.

Till they found themselves,

The land we call Pern."

F'rus motioned for R'ton to begin and jumped in after the scale.

"Many came…

New life waits…

Not knowing of their fate.

…

To the South, they then landed,

Looking for new life.

Built a home, lived in peace,

'Till Thread did fall."

F'rus cut off R'ton, leaving P'mur's drum to echo. Some of the listeners picked up on the seriousness of the moment and joined in with silverwear and feet, filling the air with a menacing sound. After a few moments, F'rus cut off the crowd and started R'ton. This time, she left her instrument quiet and dropped her voice, R'ton taking his cue and dropping the riff so that the drum came in louder.

"As they looked,

All around, marveled at that they lost.

They quarreled, argued, yes they fought.

Every man for himself.

F'rus played the riff once, at a decent volume before using another piece she remembered to make it sound like bells were tolling.

As dust cleared, 'round they looked,

Something must be done.

Now the two were playing the riff with the drum in the background.

"Fire dragonettes do flame, let us make them big!

So two began

Project to save Pern.

…

One would make

Dragons for day

One would make watch-wher.

For the night's embrace.

…

And with that, Dragonmen were born!

Empathy shall be the key,

For the dragonmen.

…

Yet all was not well, as mountains 'gan to shake."

F'rus winked at the harpers who went into a shaky version of their riffs.

"Soaring over, mountain waited

'fore cloaking all in ash.

Only warning saved

Saved that race

From horrid death."

Now the riffs were being played normally, save for being at a faster tempo.

"To the North they fled,

Needing a new home."

Now the riffs slowed as F'rus spoke her final words.

"And they built a mighty Fort, for to hold their own.

And as shells broke, dragons grew,

And Fort Weyr…

Was… born."

The music continued until P'mur was cut off, leaving only the gitar and bells, getting slower and slower until the last note died.

…

The crowd waited until they realized the song was done, causing them to leap to their feet.

F'rus quieted them down and then spoke up, "At least, that's my theory."

R'ton looked at her. "You have a good voice."

"Anyways, you're right R'ton. Now, I come from Earth as you all know and Earthlings look like the Pernese. Now, the odds of two separate races developing that look identical to each other and have the same needs are… Well, too slim. So you'd have to be my descendants. It's obvious based on the construction of the first two Weyrs and some of the original Holds that they had better technology. We can also conclude that Thread would have made them overuse their equipment and they were just starting up so there was no way to replace anything."

"How can you be so sure about the South being the landing place?" Someone yelled.

"Well first we need to back up. Now, in my time, ships would have to be really big to take even a decent amount of people across the cosmos. But there would have to be smaller ships to get to the bigger ships. The bigger ships would probably still be here, floating around Pern. The Day or Dawn Sisters. Now, the people would have taken the little ships down but we can't find anything that could be called a spaceship and we've explored all the Northern Continent, except the Snowy Wastes. However, Gr'ster, Lyon, and I are the only people I know of with a high tolerance to cold. So we can rule out the Wastes. That leaves the South, a land that has not been explored as well. That is also supported by the dragons themselves as they love to sun themselves and the grubs that were seeded all over the South but not the North." F'rus took a breath. "Now Fort was established not too late into the First Pass which means the Colonists as we'll call them had to have been forced out of their homes. Those of you who lived at Southern know how different it is to the North and probably appreciate how easy you had it. Now as the coast is fairly well explored, we can assume that tides didn't affect the move. That leaves Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Volcanos, and Blizzards. We can eliminate a blizzard since they wouldn't have settled so far South. No one has reported the ground shaking so it can't be an earthquake and there were no records of violent winds anywhere. That leaves me with a volcanic eruption, something that is easy to time if one has a dragon. So, we should look for a volcano in the South, perhaps by a source of water and covered by ash?"


	20. Special: Fairy Tail woes

Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia, Fiore

Since Team Natsu, Carla, Wendy, Gajeel, Juvia, and Pantherlily had gone missing, the guild hall was quiet. Not many took jobs and even the non-drinkers were into the liquor. Everyone was irritable and many had started a fight for no reason. Though there were plenty of people still there that brought life to the guild, many considered the missing to be the true heart of the guild. Though it was only seven in the morning, Mirajane was already serving her fifth customer.

With the brawling and drunken singing going on, the thud of the guild hall's door was barely heard. However, the guild quieted down as they saw their master enter the hall, a smile on his face.

"How was the Conference Master?" Mira asked in a deadpan voice.

Makarav ignored her before leaping to the balcony of the second floor. Once there, he turned and looked each one of his "children" in the eye. "We have prayed for our fellow members for months since they disappeared, each one of us unsure if they were alright. While there was nothing important at the Conference, I did receive information about our missing friends."

The guild looked at each other, many wearing a look of dread.

"After Laxaus brought back a copy of the magic circle that was used to transport them, we sent three wizards to the place they had been taken. They were Jellal Ferdinanz, Lyon Vastia, and Hibiki Lates. As many of you know, Jellal uses Heavenly Body Magic, Lyon uses Dynamic Icemake Magic, and Hibiki uses Archive Magic."

Some of the guild members nodded.

"One of the magics that can be used through Archive is telepathy magic. While I was at the conference, Hibiki managed to contact me and Master Bob."

At this, the guild stared at him in shock to see tears on the old man's face.

"He, he maintained the connection for a long time and I learned that all three were able to locate Lucy-"

The guild hall erupted into cheers with Laxaus who had been staying with the guild for a while being mobbed by thankful wizards.

As the cheers died down, Makarav set them off again with the next entry in the list, "Erza-"

Now the group was rowdier, the wizards now hopeful.

"Natsu!"

This set off yet another round of cheers and some drinking.

"Grey!"

Another even longer round started.

"Gajeel!"

Now everyone was on their feet, only five more to go!

"And Wendy."

The cheers didn't come this time. Only six? At last, Elfman Strauss, the "man" of the guild stood up. "What about Happy, Carla, Pantherlily, and Juvia?"

"I do not know about Juvia however through some strange magic, Happy, Carla, and Pantherlily have somehow fused with their partners. Hibiki managed to maintain the connection long enough for the two of us to overhear a battle with something known as Thread. Piecing together the information that came from various communications I was able to learn that this fushion has granted all three Dragonslayers the power to fly on angel's wings using Aera Magic. I also learned that our six wizards are each in positions of power. Lucy is third in command to all who ride golden dragons."

"You go girl!" Levy hollered for her best friend.

"Erza is second in command of the bronze colored dragons with Natsu as third in command."

"It's 'cause Natsu's a real man!" Elfman hollered.

"Yeah, I always knew that little Erza'd be a leader one day!" Macao, a Purple Fire Wizard yelled.

"Gajeel is second in command of the brown dragons."

"He is a good guy." Lauxus said with some reluctance.

"While Grey is third in command of the brown dragons."

"I'll drink to that!" The guild's heaviest drinker and Card Magic user said, raising a mug.

"And Wendy is third in command of the green dragons."

"Our little Wendy is all grown up." Macao said.

"Unfortunately, the connection was cut off and I do not know if we will ever get it back. We also don't know how to get them back." Makarav finished. "So with that news, I want to see every wizard in this guild on a job, even you Nab. While you take the job, remember that we have each other." With that, Makarav disappeared only to come back with one of the second tier jobs, an S class. "I myself will take this one with Mira, Gildarts, Elfman, and Lisanna."

..

While the guild wizards mobbed the request board, Lauxus slipped out the door, knowing what he had to do. After he had been kicked out of the guild, he was plagued with guilt for what he had done and the feeling that he would never really belong. Though he knew he may never return, he had decided to go to that world and make sure his former guildmates would stay safe.

…

At last, Lauxus came to a clearing. Taking out a knife, he painstakingly carved out the symbols of the circle, ignoring the cries of the guild's medical advisor, Porliusica. As the last symbol was carved, Lauxus was on his way.

…

Levy smiled as she handed the other two members of her team, Jet and Droy a job involving a theater in Onibus. Lucy was alive! Even better, the circle she had inscribed had taken the three other wizards to her friends. If there was a way to reproduce that circle, maybe there was a way to make one that would return their friends to the guild…

**A.N. 20 chapters! For those of you reading this that are loyal McCaffery fans, you may have noticed that my version of events differs timewise. To this, I apologize profusely. Though I remembered some events, I was surprised at how little I remembered. Also, I am actually rereading Dragonriders of Pern (Which contains Dragonflight, Dragonquest, and The White Dragon) and going, oh hell, I put that part in wrong. Unfortunately, correcting mistakes in later chapters, a tactic I favor, won't work here. If this is disagreeable, all I ask is for you to understand that it was an accident and one I regret deeply. A few months ago, I learned that my lifelong dream of meeting the great Dragonlady of Pern would never be realized as she died in 2011. I shed many tears of both regret and joy for the loss of a great writer and the fact that she was able to pass on the story before she died. While this chapter could have been skipped as it is a special, Lauxus will be transported to Pern.**


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